Freedom

An artistic prompt on Freedom... Hmmm... my mind wandered to revolutions and liberty. My voice sang along with George Michael and my heart soared with the words of Martin Luther King. That's where the problem began. I read his most famous speech and I felt so humbled, so overwhelmed. This was the freedom I wanted to paint. But wow, how do you paint that passion? How do you get inside that ring of freedom and bring it to life?

My paintbrush just sat there laughing at me. Sometimes it is so easy to respond to these creative prompts. This week though my mind was overflowing plus I was so busy with ... well ... life that I didn't have the freedom to create.

I gave up in the end and decided to just give myself the freedom to create whatever I fancied. I just let the Muse take over. She was clearly in a strange mood... But thinking about it, why shouldn't we just paint whatever we like. Why do we need to be focused on what other people might think. This painting was not going to be for sale. Yes, it would be placed on t'internet for all and sundry to gawp at, but should I care what people think about my art? I think I grew up believing that art should be realistic. I carefully painted flowers and landscapes to match their natural counterparts. Now, at last, I am letting myself go. Art for me now isn't just about delicate watercolours. Now it is about experimentation, collage, texture, feeling and, yes, Freedom!

So, this is my post this week for Inspiration Avenue, but also I'll stick it in the Happy Friday category too. Creativity is what makes me happy and between the day job and the small grabbed moments of messy play this week, it has been a good one!