Why I paint

Amy
Nov 30, 2020
2 min read

Updated: Mar 2, 2022

This is a little personal

Makes me feel

Making art makes me feel: productive, important, satisfied, excited, inspired and a part of something bigger than myself.

But I have to summon courage when I introduce myself as an artist. It feels like simultaneously saying "I want to make money by selling craft projects" and "I am inspired directly by God himself, thanks." People have ideas in their mind of 1) the starving artist myth 2) the myth of the divinely inspired artist

But in the end, it doesn't matter what most people think (just the people that really matter).

I paint because it's important to me. I'm good at it. And I'm addicted to the process of creating:

inspiration, excitement, hard work, panic, relief, contentment, excitement and fulfillment.

Feeling Called

Yeah I feel called to paint. I am a Christian and I do believe I've been created to create.

This does NOT mean:

1) I think my art is more divinely inspired aka better than other people's ideas

2) I will always be called to be a painter

I don't know what my life story is. However, I do know that I have the desire, the means and the drive to paint. For me, right now, it feels like the work I should be doing.

Maybe that's a bit wishy washy. But if you open a book on being an artist (by a believer or unbeliever) you will find art commonly connected with spirituality. People create because it allows us as humans to reach something beyond facts/data. It's just that I happen to believe in a specific God that has created me for a purpose rather than a generic universe that has developed art to exercise my soul.