The vine and the gardener
I’ve been practising watercolour painting for over a year.
Many art tutors, online and elsewhere, say that perfectionism is the enemy of creativity. Budding artists are advised not to aim for perfection because that will only cause endless frustration. For people just starting to draw and paint, there is usually a wide gap between what we see and what we try to capture on paper! Watercolour in particular is a beautiful medium but not always an easy one: you have to practice water control, how to load your brushes so you have the right mixture of water and paint, and how to judge the amount of water on the page so you can get those lovely watercolour effects. I make loads of mistakes, but that is how I learn. Sometimes those mistakes, like ‘blooms’ with hard edges on the page – watercolour artists often call them ‘cauliflowers’ – can work. Accidental water blooms in one of my seascapes ended up looking like reflections. That made me happy! I will carry on making mistakes, that's inevitable, but hopefully I will also be getting better.
Painting is therapeutic. Painting is self-expression. Painting is also FUN. And painting is expressing our God-given creativity …
… just like our writing.
The creative process can be hard work, often frustrating, but it’s also dynamic and not static. Even when it doesn’t feel like it, we are learning and growing all the time. Jesus used nature metaphors to describe our life in God: the farmer sowing seeds, the mustard seed growing into a mighty tree, the kernel of wheat falling into the earth to die and produce many more seeds.
He is the true vine and the Father is the gardener. When I feel frustrated about my art, or my writing, or my faithfulness – or lack of it – as a Christian, I need to remember that I can’t bear any lasting fruit unless I am rooted in Christ.
We can think of many gifted artists and writers who weren’t – apparently – people of faith. Yet their gifts, which have blessed the world, show that they were made in the image of God, whether they acknowledged him or not. That is surely ‘common grace’ – the generosity and love that God showers on the human race. Those of us who belong to him are called to share his love, through our creative gifts, with the world.
On this Easter Monday, full of brilliant light as the electric green of spring spreads throughout the trees, go out and create. A poem, a story, a reflection, a meditation. Rejoice in your God-given creativity. Practice your art, hone it, refine it … all the while knowing that God will pour out the sunshine, send the rain, and cause you to be fruitful, in him.
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