FEARLESS We Paint: Guest Post by Christine Graziano

Quietly….Paint FEARLESS

Fearlessness…

for me, simply, it comes down to listening.
Nothing fancy, earth shattering, or complicated.
Just a matter of being quiet and listening.

Simple right?
Reality? Not so simple.

You see, I am a chronic, type A, multitasking maniac. I can do more happily in a day, than my husband can do in a week…or two weeks for that matter. I am not bragging as if this is a good thing. In the past, I have continued this behavior all too often to the detriment of my physical and mental health. I will keep going, ignoring my inner voices until I sincerely can go no more. This is also the case creatively. The multitasking in my studio gets to a ridiculous point where with all the “doing”, nothing meaningful actually gets accomplished. It is like having creative attention deficit disorder. It is a mighty fine place to be if you want to ignore emotions, fears, hurts, and real life in general. Satisfying art making from this place? Not so much.

There is nothing like personal crises to compel a person to sit down and get quiet. Well, it is more like getting knocked down which forced the quiet and finally the listening. I had such an incident over the summer. Knocked down, no wind, no bearings, lost, ungrounded. The person in the mirror so very unfamiliar. This was an unfamiliarity not even the most prized art supply could bring into recognition.

So surrounded by a studio full of various paints, fabrics, do-dads, and studio detritus, I started looking for some familiarity within myself. Signing up for BIG was purely an afterthought in this tedious process of mine. Fearless painting? Oh, you mean not being afraid to paint BIG? Yea….. yes and well, so much more.

Fearless art making…the path to familiarity. Not for the faint of heart, but if you are ready to meet your own heart, full on, in the company of others, the paint will help you listen. The paint will help you see. Cool blues, to warm siennas, if you are quiet, your heart can emerge, and slowly, someone you can recognize, the ineffable thing within we can call the soul, will make itself known.

I am just starting to hear whispers of that heart and soul Me, through this process. I am just learning how productive and satisfying that quiet can be. That familiar voice, which very often tells me, just sit, and now listen. Then quietly pick up the paint brush and do nothing more but put it to the paper.