I think of myself as a creative soul trapped in a non-artistic body.

My whole life, I’ve had a yearning to be creative, but I don’t seem to have any artistic vision. Don’t get me wrong; I can re-create almost any kind of craft I see, given a little instruction, but I haven’t had the same success with my new love, watercolor. I just don’t seem to have that artistic eye that I see in so many others.

The other day, as I contemplated what I ‘want to be when I grow up’ I realized that the thing I want to be, more than anything else, is an artist. Now I must confess, I’m not exactly young, and when I say ‘when I grow up’ I really mean in the later years of my life. So is it too late for me to become what I really want to be? Is it even possible?

As I consider these things, I can’t help but think about Grandma Moses. She was an American Folk artist who didn’t even start painting in earnest until she was 78 years old, and she became quite famous for her artwork. If she could do it, there’s hope for me yet!

I don’t have any desire to become famous like she did, or even become recognized for my art. I just want to learn to create something beautiful that fulfills this God-given desire within me.

Of course, there’s still the elephant in the room — my lack of artistic vision. I looked up whether that is something you can develop, and guess what! The consensus is that you can, even if you feel you don’t have any artistic vision or natural talent. What a relief!

I started dabbling in watercolor a couple of years ago, and I love it, but I haven’t developed a consistent practice with it. I know the only way to get better is to put paint on the paper, and according to what I read, that’s also what I have to do to start developing my artistic vision.

I’m a firm believer that as long as we have breath in our bodies, we can learn something new. I’m not sure how much difference there is in learning to do and in learning to be, but I’m going to find out.

Hopefully, this will document my pursuit of becoming the artist I want to be and help me become consistent with my painting practice.

I hope it will also serve as encouragement for others who find themselves in the same position I’m in.

Let’s discover who ‘we want to be when we grow up’ together!