The Shopper is an Artist

So when the economy is bad and your hobby is shopping you could find yourself in a Catch 22 of sorts. I have been feeling restless not being able to afford all the great things I see on my travels and was starting to get really frustrated when inspiration hit. My husband and I were walking through the Artisphere festival during a break in the rain, and I thought to myself "I wish I could do something like this." Then I started thinking about what was stopping me. My whole life I have told myself that I don't have any artistic ability and I think its because I was limiting myself to thinking that in order to be artistic I had to draw or paint things that looked exactly like my subject...which I can't do. But what was stopping me from pushing some paint around a canvas? So we drove to Michaels and I bought a starter kit of oil and acrylic paints and a whole set of brushes and a couple of different size canvases, all for $30! Now I am sure they aren't the greatest supplies in the world, but I'm not Van Gough either.
When I got home I thought I would just play around with some shapes and colors. But then I saw a photograph of my husband and my dog that I LOVE. And I thought I would try to paint what I loved about the picture, the colors and the image of the 2 of them laying in a hammock at the beach. When I stopped trying to make my painting look exactly like the picture I felt really good about what I came up with. A painting that captured what I loved and that used my strengths instead of showing off my weaknesses. All of that and I had a great time! I found a hobby and now I look at almost everything differently. When I see an ad for a beautiful dress or amazing bag, instead of feeling sad because I can't afford to buy them, now I see something that I can take and make my own in a different way. Plus...it's a lot easier on the check book. I will try and post some pics of my new hobby when I get a chance.
So take it from me...old dogs can learn new tricks. An environment that is limiting how much you can spend might just be an opportunity to find out something new about yourself.

xoxo
Shop Girl