Drawing BIG

One of the many things I am enjoying in my freetirement is my Art Group of five ladies.  Our teacher/muse is a sparkling 88 year old fantastic artist.  Last week at our gathering, we worked with color, and I decided to draw a Mallard, which I loved so much that I posted it on FB.  I loved it because I remember when I only drew stick figures, and if I drew something that flew, it didn't look like it could take flight.  The wings did not look like they could propel anything anywhere.  When I finished this one, I felt like I should have also drawn a birdhouse because it looked like it could surely fly.

When our teacher looked at it, she was amazed--the first thing she said was "Now you Draw BIG!" She reminded me that I used to draw everything little.  If I drew a person, a flower arrangement, or anything else, it was always small.

Ironically enough, it was the same thing my Sumi-e teacher told me a few weeks ago.  I bought some very big paper in China--there you buy it by the sheet, rather than a full tablet, as we do here.  It was so big, that I only bought a few sheets.  I decided to use one of the sheets to paint (can't remember what it was), but the painting was very big.  Sensei (that is what some call our teacher) was shocked, and said "Patricia, you painted BIG." It was a good painting too, and even I could see that it was.

I think that now I paint BIG, because my confidence has become BIG!  I had never thought of that connection before until a FMOS (former Mrs. O student) brought it to my attention.  Our confidence makes us live BIG, love BIG, help BIG, enjoy BIG, praise BIG, and of course, draw and paint BIG.

It took me six years to draw BIG, but I never gave up--always knew that I could do so many other things, and that I was learning to draw for my own self satisfaction (which is the reason I do most things), and had nothing to prove to anyone.  It is always freeing to have the confidence needed to do new things--things which are seemingly out of our range.  Drawing has let me know that nothing is ever really out of our range if we are doing it for the right reason.  So, I continue to "DO BIG" in all areas of my life!

GO BIG or go home.