With The Touch of a Brush

I spent Saturday afternoon with an artistic genius who happens to be a dear friend. His name is Ron Morgan.

 He ushered me into his workshop where he took out a brush and a can of paint and showed me how to transform a rather ordinary pair of mirrors, that I had sitting in my prop shop collecting dust, with just a few simple brushstrokes.

I brought them over intending to spray them a different color, but he took one look at them and declared... "They're Fab!"

"I love the color, all they need is a bit more drama".

And just like that he dipped his brush into the paint and brushed it into the center of the rings, adding bamboo leaf detail to each one.

He handed me the brush saying...

"Now get to it!"

I have a confession to make, 

I am a Virgo, a perfectionist, and I have resisted doing many things myself because I always want them to be perfect, so this was my moment of truth!

There was no way I was going to embarrass myself in front of this man who I have admired for years, so I took the brush and began to paint.

 It was challenging as I felt myself trying TOO HARD to copy his example, laboring over every stroke.

He offered a few encouraging words like, let the brush do the work which helped.

After completing the first mirror he came over with a big smile on his face declaring that it was "Fabulous" and quite a transformation.

I felt slightly more confident as I set my sights on the second mirror.

 

Halfway through I noticed he was starting to clean up and I asked if he was ready to go.  He told me to finish up and that he would busy himself with a few phone calls.

Well that was all it took for me to finally relinquish the perfectionist grip I had on the brush and effortlessly deliver my finest strokes.

It was exhilarating to stand back and look at the finished product.  Of course I fixated a bit on how each stoke looked different and a bit awkward but the overall effect was amazing and I felt liberated from the ties that have held me back from creating something with my own hands.

I've always been creative in my head but have rarely allowed myself to bring those creative ideas to life.

This was big for me!

We packed the mirrors into the back of his van and he drove me home.

After he left... I brought them into our bedroom and placed them behind the lamps on our nightstands just for fun.

My original intention was to sell them.

 I took a few steps back and I couldn't believe how amazing they looked!  To think they had been sitting in the prop shop for at least a year, forgotten and collecting dust!

Their transformation...

My transformation...

had completely transformed our bedroom!

I think there are going to be a lot more DIY's in my future :)