Creative Journey of Kris and Aileen
Inspiring you to embrace your creativity
..is no other than my husband, Kris! 😉
I don’t want to sound a bit cheesy but it is a blessing to be married to someone who has an amazing talent in art.
My favourite part is not just his paintings but the way he inspires me to believe in my dreams and work hard to achieve them.
For many years I enjoyed our countless art store shopping. I have seen how Kris toils on his paintings, brainstorm ideas and work on endless experiments using different art media. I have never met anyone as determined as him who aims to deliver polished project.
He puts his heart and soul into his art works and the end result of it amazes everyone. I did not know someone could paint emotions not until you see his ‘out of this world’ paintings. A lot of people have been inspired by his works and some are blessed to own some of his pieces.
I am so proud of what he has achieved as of this time and just recently he was featured by @theotherartfair Sydney as Fair Director’s Pick!
Kris reminds me of the Parable of the Talents in the book of Matthew 25: 14-30. It is a story about a master who puts his servants in charge of his property while he went away for a trip. He gave each servant a large amount of talent/money. Upon his return, the servants returned his money with good profit as they have used and invested on it wisely but one unfaithful servant hid the talent/money and returned it untouched. The master rewarded the wise servants in return and on the other hand chastised the unreliable servant.
Kris never fails to give back all glory to God at all times, who created us and gifted each one of us a talent unique from everyone else. I believe that we should use our abilities as what are intended for. As for me, I have found my talent in arts and in serving.
How about you? Who inspires you in your creative journey?
I grew up in a community where becoming an artist is almost synonymous to economic suicide. I was always bombarded with unexamined opinions regarding artists being lazy, eccentric, and having no ‘direction in life’. The lives of the artists I knew that time somehow became the evidence of such a misconception so I can’t really blame why the opinions relating to the impracticality of creative pursuit of was quite pervasive. One of the first challenges I have to overcome when I decided to be an artist was shaking off all these negative perceptions which I unknowingly accepted as ‘truth’ for many years. I needed to change my perspective and replace the unhelpful ones with positivity balanced with maturity and humility. What I mean by this is believing that my art career has great potential but also being ready to do the hard work and sacrifices whilst always striving for excellence.
My creative journey isn’t a walk in the park. And it took me years before I was even able to take part in art shows and run exhibitions. I had a lot of those moments when the only thing that made sense was the raw and pure joy every time I pick up my brush.
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In her heartwarming TED talk, Elizabeth Gilbert said “Don’t be daunted. Just do your job. Continue to show up for your piece of it, whatever that might be. If your job is to dance, do your dance. If the divine, cockeyedgenius assigned to your case decides to let some sort of wonderment be glimpsed, for just one moment through your efforts, then ‘Ole!’ And if not, do your dance anyhow. And ‘Ole!’ to you, nonetheless. I believe this and I feel that we must teach it. ‘Ole!’ to you, nonetheless, just for having the sheer human love and stubbornness to keep showing up.”
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I’m so glad I did not give up. And as long as life goes on I will keep showing up.
I read the book “Rework” a few years ago and I still remember the words that inspired me and got me through the tough times when I tend to find excuses not to do my paintings. Whilst I believe that balancing work and rest is important, procrastination (if we learn to identify it) is not helpful and led me to many situations of unnecessary stress. So here’s my mantra when I notice that I am making a pattern of excuses and unproductive rationalisation: make time and just pick up your brush. And once I get into the flow the magic happens (most of the time).
This post was originally published in Kris’ Instagram account. Featured Photo by russn_fckr on Unsplash
One of the struggles of being an artist is when you have this grand idea of how a new painting will look like and you thought you’ve figured out how to achieve your vision. But then the reality hits you that there can be a lot of trial and error involved in the process.
I find it really painful when nothing seems to be working (the colours are not quite right, the textures are a bit odd, or I just can’t feel anything from the painting as if it has no soul).
These are the moments when I need to be kinder to myself. I believe being critical is important to produce quality work but I learned not to tell myself those words I would never say to someone I value and respect. Instead of saying “it’s terrible!” I choose “it’s not quite right but it’s not done yet.”
Standing back to reflect has been very helpful in my art practice so I could maintain my sanity and not lose the joy of creating.
Creative Journey of Kris and Aileen 