Brushless Botanicals

Almost every day I receive an email from someone with a story they need to get off their chest. They tell me how they were shorted or shamed into thinking they were not capable of creating art – a teacher, a parent, a friend, someone saying, “Don’t worry you are good at other things!” Or “It’s okay, your sister is the creative one.” And from that day forward, they ignore the gift that lives inside. They do not exercise their artistry. Not with paint, or even their opinion. Forget about painting pictures, they didn’t even have the confidence to pick a paint color for their bathroom. They never purchased art or visited a museum because they never learned to appreciate what art has to offer. They believe they are not “good” at art and therefore they do not deserve to have it in their life. My mission is to end this sort of garbage thinking. Today.

When I’m teaching classes in my studio, and I come across an adult who is struggling to enjoy the process, I find the quickest way to resolve the problem is to take away the paintbrush and replace it with another tool. A cotton swab. A piece of cardboard. A clump of yarn.

Somehow, by removing the brush, and the lifetime of stigma that it carries, it removes a barrier between new artists and their art. The process is no longer about the pursuit of perfection but the exaltation of the process. All of the sudden, they like the paint. The paint likes them. They go away wanting more. And a week later I get an email with photos of all the cool stuff they made that week and an explanation about how,

“My mom always thought my sister was the artistic one in the family. Ha! Wait until she sees her Christmas present this year!”

I cannot tell you how much joy those emails bring me. This is why I created this series, Brushless Botanicals. No brushes. Familiar imagery. New territory and techniques. Old masters for inspiration. This combination has proven itself as a breakthrough formula time and time again. I cannot wait to see what it does for you.