Recap: Art on the Lawn Festival

Hi everyone. 🙂

Can I just say for a Monday, today was good! I read Psalm 23 this morning in my study of finding the phrase “steadfast love” within the Psalms. Psalm 23:6 says, “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.” I never took note of this before, but today I read the numerical at the bottom reference to the word “mercy.” It says, “Or steadfast love.” So I noted the verse in my notebook.

I found Psalm 23 exactly what I needed to read after getting through the rest of last week and the weekend. God’s mercy and goodness was evident, but I cannot say that I held on to the steadfast love in all areas like I should have–instead I chose to cling on fear to a few health related issues…forgetting the peace and calmness of the still waters; forgetting how He restores the soul.

I am entirely grateful to my family who put up with my frazzled grumpiness and helped me immensely in the preparation (writing the price tags, putting in the thumbtacks and twine on the back of the paintings for hanging), set up/take down of my booth on Saturday and stayed all day with me at the festival. I could not have done this without them!!

I will say though that overall I was better prepared this year than past year, including getting a better nights sleep. It is interesting to see the difference one year can make, even within my painting style. As Mom and I were pricing on Thursday, I took note of my work: focused on smaller paintings, more abstract and ones with media. I stretched myself last year in my paintings to paint detail and broad themes; some of my best work is from last summer.

But over the year much has changed and I can see the paintings this year represent my style of what I am comfortable with and best at painting–a more relaxed approach yet detailed in its creativity. I would be lying to say that I don’t miss details, because I do. But sometimes even painting my “Mel” at the bottom corner is enough detail for me. I am just thankful that I can still paint!

So how was the art show? Fantastic! It was a LONG day…I could have gone for a second round of coffee, but the day could not have been better. We were blessed with beautiful weather and my booth sat right in front of a huge tree, which offered pleasant shade in the afternoon. In conversation, I did fairly well. It is hard for me, because I talk more than I listen just because I can’t hear…but as time went on, I felt more relaxed–enjoying watching people point to paintings they liked and meeting people or talking with the friends who came to my booth too. At the end of the day, I survived staying awake through dinner but then fell asleep on the drive home (last year I fell asleep AT dinner).

I want to say a thank you to the staff at the Village Artians, who coordinated this event. They went above and beyond making sure that the vendors’ needs were met. I can’t say that I will be in next year’s festival (who knows what another year will bring), but if the door is opened, then I would love the opportunity to participate again. Either way, painting this year will not stop for five months as it did last year–doors continue to  open and I am ready to restart on the journey through art.

Creativity takes courage. ~Henri Matisse