Turning Point

Painting any picture is a process. It is almost as if one has to establish a relationship with the canvas and the picture evolving on it. As with any relationship, doing a painting implies that you will have to work through different stages.

In the beginning the relationship between you and this work of art is on the stiff and awkward side. You do not know each other very well yet. Initially, with each brush stroke, you might event feel that you are drifting further and further away from each other. During these first stages of my painting I usually feel alienated. It is as if I can just not get into it. During this time, as with any relationship, you think of quitting. Is it really worth, to invest your time and energy into something with which you cannot relate?

It is during these times that the guidance of my art teacher is invaluable. She has a fresh perspective and the changes she suggests, regardless of how small they are, steer me through the waters of desperation.

So you go on, still not very positive that the outcome will be worth looking at, but nevertheless.

And then, when you least expect it, there comes a point where the painting turns around. Suddenly, you and the picture find each other. There is a magical connection. I can never say when that exact point will be, but when I reach it, I am always thankful that I have persevered.

Standing at the beginning of a new year we are faced with new challenges, new tasks, new adventures, new hurdles… Somewhere within all of this, we have to find ourselves. We have to establish what the relationship between us and all of that which surrounds us will be. In the beginning we struggle. Most foreign challenges seem impossible to conquer. We just want to give up. It is during times like these where we need God, the teacher of life, to guide us. It just takes a prayer for Him to refresh our perspective and lead our hand to make the brush strokes which will ensure that this new picture in our lives will become a masterpiece.

It is fine to be overwhelmed, but just keep on painting. There will be a point when all of what we do will start to make sense. When we can stand back and be proud of the picture which we have created.