I’ve told you about some of my favorite things to do when I’m not writing, like watching musicals and crafting. Today I wanted to tell you about a newer activity that I do when I’m not writing. It’s something I’m not particularly good at, but that I love trying: painting.

I’ve never been able to draw. I didn’t doodle when I was bored in school. Instead I’d write down character names and book titles that I was working on, scribbling names on the corners of my papers, daydreaming about the stories. And because I can’t draw I’m terrible at painting. Because in order to paint you have to first be able to sketch a drawing of what you’re going to paint. I think this is why I like coloring so much.

So I don’t think I’ll ever be able to paint for real. But I love to craft and I’ve been wanting to try this new medium. When I made my inspiration board for my work-in-progress (something I now do for each writing project, and similar to my word of the year boards), I bought acrylic paint and brushes because one of my characters paints. I painted a small paper with simple stripes of colors, pretending to be the character and painting something she would create. And I loved it and have kept playing with acrylics.

I grew up with simple painting. The first time I remember going to one of those paint-your-own ceramic places I was 11 years old. I broke my jaw by falling off the playground at school and had to stay home for the week with a concussion and my braces rubber-banded together to keep my jaw shut tight. We were new to town and my mom had found a place called Painter’s Pottery and took me there on one of the days. I painted a plate that still sits on my dresser today. Over the years we kept going back there, with our girl scout troop and with friends, and I have so many beautiful painted ceramics. My husband goes with me now to our favorite studio in Dayton and he enjoys it too!

Last month I tried painting on canvas for the first time to make a birthday present for my sister-in-law. I used her favorite color and painted simple stripes, but to make it a full work of art, I added her favorite Bible verse and matching rhinestones. I know I won’t be able to paint anything complicated, but I’m super proud of how this piece turned out.

I don’t know what all I’ll do with painting or how hard I’ll try to learn, but I’m having fun. I’ve always found the act of brushing paint to be relaxing, and even if I only paint already-made ceramics or simple stripes on paper, I’m going to keep painting.

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Do you like to paint? Have you ever kept at a craft you’re not actually good at?