I have always emphasized to my students the importance of enjoying the process of painting rather than focusing on the end product.
I have preached on the topic of letting go of preconceived ideas as one paints and allow the painting to “talk to you”.
My belief has always been that the frustration experienced in painting results from trying to cling on to ones idea, instead of “going with the flow” as one gets into the process of painting.
I really experienced the truth of all of the above, as I facilitated a collaborative group painting, for 60 people at a corporate holiday party.
I went into the event having planned the format of the painting.( See the image above.) I thought I would invite each person to select a section and try and recreate that section in the specific colours, which were the company brand colours.
This painting certainly took on a life of its own as the participants preferred to express their own authentic creative selves, rather than to stick to the rules and boundaries.
The participants has such fun as they painted outside the lines refusing to stick to the rules. The end result was a looser, more expressive, creative piece, than my pre conceived idea.
This was a real life practise of the benefits of the Buddhist principles of “Non attachment” and letting go of preconceived ideas.
