Kadison Schema 1 - Painting

I have never been particularly good at anything art related. When I was younger, I enjoyed doodling in my notebooks and painting during art classes. When I started getting older, and grades started mattering more, I became frustrated with myself when I would try to do anything art and it wasn’t the way I pictured it in my head. This eventually led me to avoid all art classes when I got to high school.

During field hockey season, we had a team bonding exercise that involved painting on a small canvas. We had to paint a background and letter with words we wanted to be as a team. I found that I still really enjoyed the activity, especially because there was nothing (like a grade) at risk. My mom must’ve gotten the hint somehow that I enjoyed it because I ended up getting ten 8”x10” canvases for Christmas, but I hadn’t had time to actually sit down and paint until this quarantine.

The hardest part is figuring out what to actually paint. I had to pick something relatively easy/simple because I obviously don’t have a lot of skill yet, so I ended up googling a lot of “easy painting” ideas. Once I figured out what I’m painting, the rest came relatively easy. It was actually really relaxing being able to just focus on something that didn’t have consequences if I messed up.

Once I finished painting, I got this weird sense of pride. Even though I know my paintings aren’t particularly creative or good, the satisfaction of completing it felt amazing. They won’t really be special to anyone else but me (or possibly my family/friends), but it’s still really cool to think I created something worthwhile on my own. Painting, and art itself actually, can be a messy process. With all the demands life can give us, it's super refreshing to be allowed to mess something up. I would definitely recommend painting to anyone who has the supplies during this quarantine.

These are my two favorite paintings I've done so far.