I like to paint pictures.
But for many years I was hampered by the critical voice which kept saying, 'that's no good. That's a lousy picture. You can't paint. What are you painting that rubbish for?'
Have you ever heard that niggling, lack of confidence, voice in your mind?
It undermines your progress, undermines your enjoyment of your work, and doesn’t let you fully participate in the creative process. Instead of flying with a smile on your lips and a paintbrush in your hand, you are stumbling along heavy-hearted. Maybe even reduced to tears and angry outbursts?
So the time came for me to let go. Let go of listening to this nasty little critic. It’s not so easy. It’s a persistent little thing!
Today, I came across a passage in a beautiful book called 'I am with you always, words of comfort in times of illness' by Margaret French; Jarrold Colour Publications, Norwich, UK.
It has a breath-taking sunset framing a view of the Forth Road Bridge in Scotland near where I lived as a child. The storyline was 'Confidence'.
It illustrated what faith was to that author's mind.
She said that at the opening of any new bridge anywhere, the mayor would declare the new bridge opened. The engineer will say, 'I believe this bridge will serve many generations.' But the teenager will say, 'Let me be the first to ride my motorbike across this new bridge.'
The teenager is the one that has FAITH!
Her quote was from Psalms. Psalm 91:2
You are my refuge and my stronghold, my God in whom I put my trust.
So today, I took my paintbrush, imagined it was a motorbike and rode confidently across the snowy white canvas bridge.
You know, I enjoyed it very much. The critic cropped up, of course, trying out its nasty carping...but I said, 'Oh shut up. What do you know?' That little critic shushed.
I felt confident and full of faith that I could paint. So I painted joyfully today.
Today, I let go of listening to the critic, took up my bed and walked...mixing my metaphors, laughing.
PLEASE ENCOURAGE AUTHOR BELOW LEAVE COMMENT ON ARTICLE
Reader Count & Comments
Date
Yum! I empathize totally! Only my critic was my Mother! My Sister is an extremely gifted artiste - my real Father was a marvelous cartoonist, and all I could do was copy - lacking imagination to create from my head. It wasn't until recently that I found out, from my Sister, that he did his work from pictures he copied! gurk. I recall my Mother, when she watched my Sis crayon very carefully around the inner lines, and then fill in with slightly lighter shades - and then watch her younger (me!) color outside the lines - she told me that my Sister took after her (Mom was pretty creative herself), and that I had a lot to learn. sigh. Kinda poked a hole in my balloon. So I never picked up a paintbrush except to paint by number to please my Mom. She said I lacked imagination. And so I did, after hearing that I never tried beyond my cartooning, copying Walter Lantz and Walt Disney characters. Thank you so much for that dynamite last line! I would love to see your paintings...
Oh June, I liked this very much. I think the writers here will all relate to your experience with painting. I know I certainly do! I loved the quote about the bridge, but loved even more the way you translated that into how you painted across the snowy white bridge of your canvas. Well done and excellent contribution to the challenge. With love, Deb
June, I enjoyed that. You made me chuckle. "Shut up! What do you know!" I'll have to remember that line next time my critics speaks up! Donna
The opinions expressed by authors do not necessarily reflect the opinion of FaithWriters.com. This is especially true with articles that
deal with personal healthcare and prophecy. We encourage the reader to make their own decision in consultation with God, His Word, and others as needed.
This article has been read 1242 times < Previous | Next >
Read more articles by June Walker or search for other articles by topic below.
This article has been read 1242 times < Previous | Next >
Search for articles on: (e.g. creation; holiness etc.)
Read more by clicking on a link:Free Reprints
Main Site Articles
Most Read Articles
Highly Acclaimed Challenge Articles.
New Release Christian Books for Free for a Simple Review.
NEW - Surprise Me With an Article - Click here for a random URL
God is Not Against You - He Came on an All Out Rescue Mission to Save You
...in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them... 2 Cor 5:19
Therefore, my friends, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. Acts 13:38
LEARN & TRUST JESUS HERE
FaithWriters offers Christian reading material for Christian readers. We offer Christian articles, Christian fiction, Christian non-fiction, Christian Bible studies, Christian poems, Christian articles for sale, free use Christian articles, Christian living articles, New Covenant Christian Bible Studies, Christian magazine articles and new Christian articles. We write for Jesus about God, the Bible, salvation, prayer and the word of God.