Release your inner artist . . .

"Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep."

- Scott Adams

Yep, I sat in front of my computer for hours on several occasions just waiting for some kind of inspiration to knock me in the head. But knock it did not. It didn't even whisper.

First, I thought maybe I'm hungry and just need to feed my brain, well that didn't work. I tried a change of scenery, and then some coffee and still nothing....the hours were ticking and I was out of inspiration. 

So I picked up my phone to do a little finger painting . . . . 

Yes, that's it! That's what I want to share with you today.

"Creativity comes naturally to all children - all five-year-olds can draw beautifully." 

                      - Anthony Browne

Do you remember opening your first box of crayola crayons, or your first pan of watercolors? Because

I'm sure as 5 years olds we all had that excitement of picking up that crayon or brush and putting it to paper without even a thought as to how well it would turn out. We were after all, at 5 all brilliant artists in our own minds, and what a beautiful thing. As a child we created for the love of creating and not necessarily for the end result. We probably even knew instinctively which ones to keep (or maybe all of them). And then, we grew up, and we started to doubt. We started to doubt something that seemed to come naturally when we were in kindergarten.

"What art offers is space - a certain breathing room for the spirit."  - John Updike

Before we moved to where we are now, I taught beginning metal clay classes and something I always heard students say was that they weren't very creative. I had to disagree, in fact I believe we all have the ability to be creative. Some of us remember our creative side and some of us just need to be reminded. We just need to allow ourselves to take risks and color outside of the lines from time to time.

In fact, what I want to share with you is an app I found on my phone that lets you release that inner artist. You simply paint with your finger right over your photo without the mess and without the expense. It's called impressionistic fingerpainting and it's addictive. And it's for any brand of phone.

"One of the best things about paintings is their silence - which prompts reflection and random reverie."

- Mark Stevens

All three of these photos were taken with my HTC Vivid (Droid), and finger painted with the app. I then added some texture to them to aid in the impressionistic painterly feel and added a museum frame to hang here in the gallery. It has even made me want to dig out my big girl watercolors and brushes again. So go ahead, unleash that inner artist that you know is just waiting to get out and share them with us in our flickr group.

Happy Tuesday!