I honestly hadn’t picked up a paintbrush in months, until the other day. It was a freezing August’s day, probably the coldest day of the year (in my opinion), and it was raining on top of that, and I thought what better activity to do than to paint?

For some reason, I had been procrastinating my arts & crafts lately and had no desire to paint or even continue my beaded curtain; yet I had a slight sliver of a remembered joy I had once obtained when painting something special.

I shoved away all procrastination thoughts that were building up in my mind and my negative self-talk about how I am probably no good at it anyway, I shouldn’t even bother. I decided to start off with something simple, trying to remind myself that it doesn’t have to be perfect, I must just do my best.

I had painted a bookmark for my mother long ago, I think that was the last time I painted something, before I went away for Italy, and thought I could continue with my bookmark paintings. I did use a tutorial video, I will be honest, but only because I have not reached the stage yet where I am able to design art on paper from my head and still need quite a bit of guidance.

The tutorial video I had chosen was calming and peaceful, with soft, sweet melodies playing in the background as the woman explained the colours she was using and the steps on how to paint what she was painting. She had put three chapters in her video, for three different designs of bookmarks. I chose to do only one, the one that stood out to me the most initially and the one that appeared easiest to complete. That was the berry bookmark.

I didn’t use the exact colours she was using or paint in the exact same way, but I did follow her steps most of the way and mine did not turn out like hers did, but that’s because I am out of practice and am not even near that level of talent.

To me, it’s more about the process of creating something than the actual result. I do love it when something turns out to be great, but I appreciate the process more sometimes. Last year after my season in Greece, I spent all summer at home just painting different things on the patio with my mom who would be painting her empty wine glass bottles. It’s core memories like that that can come from simple creations and art works.

Unfortunately, my mother is not home, so I painted my bookmark alone in my room but still felt the familiar feeling of quiet happiness as I painted my berries. I didn’t finish my bookmark that evening because I ended up having to go and sleep in the garage with my horses that night because the cold was simply unbearable, but I came back to it the next day (yesterday) and managed to finish it.

Painting something as simple as a berry bookmark was enough to remind me how much I adore painting and my art. I ended up inspiring myself to persist and actually make time to continue with my art. Life is short and should be spent doing things we love to do and that bring us joy, whether we are good at it or not.

Soon I will pull myself out of my procrastination hole and pick up beading again so that I can hopefully finish my beaded curtain before the end of the year.

I hope who ever reads this feels inspired as well to pick up an old hobby they lost along the way of life. I understand things and time get in the way of it, but we really should try to keep the little things that bring us happiness alive, otherwise it’s easy to just feel sad or go into a mind of numbness and stick to the TV or computer games. Get up, find your pencil, your paintbrush, your knitting needle, your pen to write or a book or whatever it is you use to bring your hobbies and creativity out and explore the creations you have been holding inside.