She Gave Me Some Audacity

In his insightful little book titled Painting as a Pastime, Winston Churchill, himself an avocational artist, wrote that “The first quality needed (in order to paint) is audacity.” I think he’s right. Learning something new seems always to involve a touch of nervousness. There is the fear of failure, of embarrassment, or inadequacy for the pursuit. And there is that awful tendency, at least in my case, to compare my beginner efforts with those who already do things well. (“Why can’t I paint as good as Rembrandt? I’ve been doing this for three days already?)

True confession: I’ve wanted for a long time to start painting but I’ve been afraid of the empty canvas.  Enter Peggy Everett.  She’s been teaching people to paint for decades. I’m one of her most recent students, having recently joined three others for three days at a beautiful plantation in west central Georgia. We used four colors of oil paint. We used only a couple of brushes. We - the four nervous students — were generous with encouragement to one another. We had fun. The take away — a couple of small canvases that bear all the marks of a beginner. But better yet, I left — I think we all did — with a bit of audacity. With the belief that, given time and effort, we could all paint a picture that someone else might enjoy. And if not, we could all point for our own enjoyment. 

To my long list of things to be thankful for: Peggy Everett, new friend and mentor.  And for humble, hopeful audacity. ~ allen