Let your inner creative flow
Finished my first oil on canvas in over twenty years!
I’m painting again. The earthy aroma of oil paint, Turpenoid and linseed oil is back in my life. The sound a brush makes mixing paint on my metal butcher’s tray versus how it sounds when the brush pushes against a Gessoed canvas are songs I’ve not heard in a long, long time.
More than twenty years ago I surrendered my oil paintings and supplies to a friend I went to art school with. I never wanted to pick up a brush again. I needed to eliminate that creative escape, as at the time it didn’t seem right to have creative joy in my life when I was watching my husband Chuck wither away from stage four melanoma.
He passed away on January 17, 2004.
I feel like Chuck has been at my side ever since. I sense his encouragement and love for me every time I think of him. Whenever I get a creative idea for my business or I’m in a playful, happy mood, I see his big, beautiful smile. I know he had a hand in the wonderful relationship I’m now in with Doug, and that he revels in the fun I’m having.
Doug actually had a hand in inspiring me to paint again, using the excuse of needing artwork for the vacant walls in his new house. “Okay, honey. I’ll do some paintings for you,” I said one day. At first I was a bit reluctant, still having residual sadness from what I’d associated painting with in the past, but then I felt a nudge from Chuck. “Go do it.” My inner creative ached for something new, something I used to do that I loved and was missing from my day-to-day business world.
Being a creative—that’s who I truly am.
Once I clicked into the idea that I was going return to painting it was like someone lit a fire under me, stirring excitement that I’d not felt in a long time. Suddenly I was like a kid again, doing something that was truly for me—something creative and fun.
I found a local art supply store that seemed to encompass every aspect of creativity I’d long left behind. Walking through the aisles was like being in a time warp—they had supplies I’d used in art school back in the early 80s. A calendar of memories flooded my mind as I savored each inch of the store. It was quite emotional in a long forgotten way that fueled my eagerness to create.
The best part was discovering the store offered painting classes. Without hesitation, I signed up and went to my first class April 6, 2021. I knew I’d need a little guidance getting back on the painting horse, and I was fortunate to find a wonderful teacher who led the class. I wanted to find out what kind of painter I was today.
Below is a photo journey of my first oil painting in over twenty years:
When I signed this first painting, it felt amazing. My strongest compulsion was to hurry up and start the next painting. I have rediscovered my inner creative and I am loving it! (I’m sure you can tell by the smiles in these photos.)
Why I’m sharing this reconnection with you is how doing so in my life has transformed my business. Yes, there are other decisions I’ve made about my work in recent months that have contributed to what I’m up to in my work, but taking up painting has had the greatest impact.
What do I mean? I mean that for the months ending 2020 and starting 2021, I had no new clients. I was feeling the pinch of anxiety about business, questioning if I still “had it” to do what I’d been doing for fifteen years in Better3, and feeling a bit worn out and lost.
I don’t feel that way anymore. By giving myself permission to be more creative—and most importantly—do what I love to do regardless of whether it brings income or not, the floodgates to happiness and abundance have opened.
Having more dimension in my life has brought more joy, fulfillment and fun. I believe those emotions are what has opened my business energy flow again and I’m reunited with not just painting, but what I love to do in my work: designing websites, getting clients excited about their business, coaching clients to simplify and focus on what brings THEM the most joy, just like I have.
I want to always “walk the talk” about being authentically 1000% you, and model that for those who look my way or work with me. I still have a TON to give and do through my business, and now I’ve added a dimension of creativity that I’d long resisted.
My question to you is, what is it in your life that you’re resisting that may be impacting your business? Your income? Your joy? What can you bring back into your life that gives you joy, creates fun and dimensionality that can let your business floodgates open? ❤️
