I have a LOT of crafting hobbies, but I've never really tried painting. Maybe it's because my grandfather was an artist. We (my mom, brothers, and I) have his paintings up in our homes and I've always known I could never come close to his skill. But Mysti Parker, author of all types of romance, often posts pictures of her projects, so I asked her to share a bit about her passion.
A Writer’s
Not-So-Daunting Hobby
By Mysti Parker
Once upon a time, I would
often think about taking up oil painting, only to toss the notion aside. It
seemed so daunting when I thought about all the materials I would need to get
started. For years, I’ve consoled myself by watching Bob Ross videos. It may
have been his soothing voice as he painted “happy little trees,” but to me, it
just looked so relaxing to swipe those colors on a canvas and end up with
something beautiful.
As an author, I do this
daily with the words I write. Starting from a blank page, I can create magical
worlds, poignant romance, comedy that will make you snort out your tea, and
historical settings that take you back in time. Visualizing
plot and settings is something most creative writers do as their stories
unfold. An interesting study in
Germany revealed that writers use many parts of their brains as they work,
including the vision-processing regions.
We’re naturally a creative
lot, but every writer gets burned out now and then. All work and no play
makes…you know how it goes. Ask any writer what they do in their downtime, and
many of them will probably say they enjoy some other creative art. I know
writers who paint, draw, knit, sew, and play musical instruments. We do enjoy
our creative side, so we tend to use it in order to relax. Doing other creative
arts activates different areas of the brain and gives our writing neurons a
break.
So, in the hopes of finding
a new way to both relax and enjoy my creative side, I finally decided to take
up oil painting this summer. The materials needed still seemed daunting, but I
researched many options. Traditional oil paints require paint thinners and
solvents that can be harmful. Since I knew I would be doing some painting with at
least one of my kids, I wanted a safer option.
That’s when I found
water-mixable oil paints. No paint thinners or solvents needed. After a
friend’s suggestion, I went online to Jerry’s Artarama and ordered a starter
set of ten Lucas
Berlin water-mixable oil colors. What surprised me most was how affordable
it was. They had a great sale going and a free shipping offer, so I also
ordered some tabletop easels. I bought brushes and canvases at Walmart and at
Michael’s using an in-store coupon. We were set.
But, would they truly work
as well as traditional oils? The answer is yes. You can thin them with water or
oil and they still have the smooth consistency of traditional paints. A side note: If you thin with oil (we used
lavender essential oil), you can also use your traditional oil paints with
them. Plus, the lavender oil smells awesome and is soothing in itself.
My goal with painting isn’t
to sell them or have them displayed in museums or anything like that. We’re
just hanging them around the house for cheap and unique décor. When your goal
is to simply have fun and relax, that takes away all the stress. Plus, it’s a
great way to have quality me time and
quality time with my middle child, Zoe. She’s creative-minded like me, so we’ve
painted a few pictures together. Our latest is the two-canvas fish. I love how
it turned out. My husband will be hanging it over his big fish tank when it’s
dry. A side note: I get my painting ideas
and techniques from Pinterest and painting tutorials on YouTube.
A bonus benefit to my new
hobby is that it gives the writer portions of my brain a much-needed break,
which is particularly helpful when I’m suffering from writer’s block or simple
burnout. After a fun painting session, I’m usually ready to jump back into my
work-in-progress. If I’d known it would be fun, relaxing and motivational, I’d have started much sooner!
****
Mysti's is the author The Ghost of January, soon to be released at Eskape Press:
Against her father's wishes, twenty-year-old January
Cooper elopes with her high school sweetheart and leaves for a fairytale
honeymoon in Europe. Two weeks later, she's a widow, abandoned by her husband's family and too
ashamed to contact hers. She works her way across the continent, scared, but determined
to make it on her own.
Renowned food and travel blogger Diederik DeVries arrives in his native
Amsterdam and hears rumors of a Ghost Lover who has supposedly left a trail of
broken hearts all over Europe. A chance encounter with an American girl named
Jan leaves him wondering if she could be this elusive legend.
Despite her fears of falling in love again, January is just as intrigued with
the charming and handsome Diederik. Though he is determined to discover her
true identity, she refuses to tell him anything about her past. All he wants is
to break down the walls of her hidden heartache to find the real woman within.
But will the ghosts of January's past take her away from him before he ever
gets that chance?
