I'm Louise Fletcher. As President of 
'Aun Aprendo'
Not long ago, I decided to start painting -- not house painting or room painting, but the kind of painting you do with tiny little brushes and ounces, not gallons of paint. Didn't know the first thing about it; it's just something I'd been thinking about for a while and thought it sounded like a fun and interesting diversion. So I jumped in -- off to the local craft store in search of the perfect tools to embark upon my new journey. Asked the associate what tools and resources one would need if one wanted to start painting and one had zero, zilch experience in this skill area. She gave me a near-nasty look and said "Why are you gonna' paint if you don't know nothin' about it?" I offered a lame "why not?" response, only to wonder later why I hadn't quipped the confident "because I can" line.
The Paint Associate (TPA) suggested that I start with "on sale" and "clearance items" so "you won't be out too much when you quit." Hmm. Quit? Clearly, she was ahead of me in the transition process.
Overwhelmed by her positive feedback, good vibes, and confidence-building assurances, I zipped down aisle 7, a career consultant on a mission. Look out!
Heeding TPA's wisdom, I invested $3.78 for three 9x12 canvases (on sale); five bucks for a five-piece paint-brush set (clearance); a name-brand acrylic paint set containing 12 teeny tubes of assorted colors (on sale) and voila, move over Monet and peace out Picasso! I simply could not wait to get home to paint. Seriously, I'm now on my tenth painting and I absolutely treasure each one. Not because they're great, or good, or anything of the sort. It's because I had the courage to try something new and jump in!
Funny, too, how I've been paying much closer attention to news stories about artists. Just the other day, I saw a tv clip about Goya, the famous Spanish painter and graphic artist. One of his last works was 'Aun Aprendo' -- "I Am Still Learning." I like these words very much -- 'aun aprendo' -- for careers, for job search, for life.
well, still a good start for you...i hope you'll do good with your new hobby!
Posted by: house painters washington | October 10, 2008 at 12:11 PM