Tag Archives: lines and color

Noticing Opportunity

Cans of Paint

My plein air painter friend was having a frustrating time by the lake. Everything that could go wrong with his painting simply went wrong, repeatedly.

In exasperation, he began to scrape the paint off the board yet again. One of the many geese in the area wandered up beside him but he busily continued scraping paint.

Imagine his surprise when the miffed goose bit him in the butt!

He turned and looked down at the goose. He rather liked the lines and color of the annoying creature.

He turned his full attention to the goose and began to paint it rather than the overworked landscape that had been distressing him. The goose refrained from any more biting.

This particular artist now has a whole series of relaxed and playful goose paintings underway.

I think this is a great example of how a new opportunity sometimes has to bite us in the butt to get our attention.

In my friend’s case, he ended up having fun with painting again. Now when he paints landscapes, they also have that playful spirit to them, which he had gradually lost until that day by the lake.

Maybe it would be good to just notice the geese without having to have one bite us in the butt. What interesting new geese are showing up in your life right now?

This post is included in the Carnival of Creative Growth, Personal Development Articles, and the Carnival of Self Mastery. Each includes other interesting article you may enjoy browsing, so have a look!

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