Painting Outside of the Box

Last weekend, I was at a family’s home and one of their girls, Ravin, came to show me her latest creations in her portfolio. At not even 10 years old yet, she’s always impressed me with her creativity, but one of her paintings stood out to me:

What’s so great about this particular painting is how she created it. She laid down a quarter to mask the area where the sun was going to be, and splattered paint around it. I asked her how she did the splatters of color, and she gave me a big smile and said “with a toothbrush!” Her reply almost had a “silly girl, what else would I use?” tone to it, but I’m pretty sure it was my own artistic convictions coloring my reaction.

You see, I used to paint with toothbrushes. I painted with leaves, string, my fingers, and a host of other non-conventional tools. My paintings didn’t always stay on the paper, and they were rarely centered. When did I stop thinking that this was an acceptable way to paint?

Ravin’s painting was a kind reminder that we artistic types should never lose the wonder of getting a little messy.

~ Here’s to painting outside of the box from time to time. Thanks Ravin! ~