Why is it that every time I paint my hands end up like this?
(And I already washed them twice.)
And why do my lovely new pristine brushes end up like this?
And why do my wrists look so wrinkly in the top picture?
Cough, anyway, as I was saying, how is it that when I paint, everything, and I mean EVERYTHING gets covered. Seriously, it’s like a Laurel and Hardy sketch.
Take today;
How many times did I get paint in my eye? 2
How many times did I tread on a paint lid? 2
How many times did I sit on a paint lid? 1
How many times did I rest my hand on a paint lid? 2
I also dropped glue covered paper on my head, managed to paint my own ear while attempting to scratch a cheek itch with my knuckle, and, for a little while sported pink eyelashes and a pink polka dot cleavage.
Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t expect to stay completely spotless, I mean, where there’s paint there’s splattering, but when Mr B paints his hands and the handles of the brush stay clean. When my dad paints the same thing happens, and my mum, and my brothers, yet I end up looking like a mishappen decorative feature gone wrong, or at least like I’m trying to blend myself into the room like some weird suburban foot soldier in twin set and slippers. (NB, The twin set and slippers is what a weird suburban foot soldier would wear, not me.)
Today as I sloshed various shades of pink over Miss M’s walls I came to a conclusion.
I paint…like a child.
I don’t mean that I paint large headed beings with limbs growing out of their chins and one very large eye, but that I paint, well, carelessly, without care, beyond worry and thought and fear. I load up my brush with thick gloopy colour, raise it to the wall generally somewhere in the middle and just slap it on.
I love that first sound of the brush, ‘thwack’, against the surface.
I love the contrast of fresh paint against weary old walls or newly hung lining paper.
I love stirring at the thick gelatinous goo that can transform a room, a feeling, a mood.
I love the squiggly feeling in my tummy when I’m doing a difficult bit that calls for a steady hand and no dripping.
I love when the first wall is done and it looks good and there are just three more to go.
And I love the mess, the texture, even the smell. It excites in me feelings of newness, of change, of a fresh chapter, hope.
So yeah, that’s why I get messy. I paint like a kid, with joy, wild abandon, a little clumsiness and the occasional spillage. It’s not always a good thing, but it’s not likely to change so I might as well enjoy it.
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September 22nd, 2008 at 4:44 pm
Me too! Messiest ever. My husband practically barred me from painting, I’m such a mess. My attention span is WAY too short for painting. Sad but true.
September 22nd, 2008 at 5:12 pm
The only difference with me is that I have learned to put the paint lid back on the pain can… though I have stepped in, sat in and leaned in the paint tray a time or 10.
xoxo
September 22nd, 2008 at 5:21 pm
I have very similar issues.
After reading your post though I’m thinking maybe you ought to have someone confiscate the paint lids. =P
Our last go, I went to pour paint into the trough thing. And poured about half a gallon onto the floor.
Sigh.
September 22nd, 2008 at 5:56 pm
“I paint…like a child.” but no! This is the way it should be!
I only wish I could see the recipient of all this glorious pink paint.
September 22nd, 2008 at 7:47 pm
As long as you don’t track any of that beautiful paint through the house…
I used to paint with great care, but have lost my patience with it and now paint with speed. It just isn’t funny anymore when you just paint white on smoke yellowed white.
September 22nd, 2008 at 7:54 pm
I love painting! I’m pretty neat about it, though -in general.
Will we see the final results?!!!
September 22nd, 2008 at 7:58 pm
I have never painted anything, not even a speck of white-out, without getting it in my hair. Thankfully I’m not trying to hide anything, because I wouldn’t be able to.
September 23rd, 2008 at 12:06 am
Have you tried sponging? That’s fun and unique for a kids room.
September 23rd, 2008 at 11:30 am
I am not allowed to paint for those very same reasons. I am permitted to put up the masking tape so that the wood trim doesnt get painted over … sigh … I could come help you make a mess..er … help you paint …
September 23rd, 2008 at 11:31 am
I had to learn to control my paint mess when I was in the Navy. They don’t like people going all crazy with the haze grey stuff. And it wasn’t as much fun, anyhow.
I bet your little one is going to love her new room!
September 23rd, 2008 at 11:51 am
I always end up the same Jo!
September 23rd, 2008 at 3:58 pm
Hahahaha!!! That was great… I must confess, I am exactly the opposite. I hate getting my hands sticky; nevermind all those other places you ended up getting pink paint on! Sounds like a Pink Panther episode!
September 23rd, 2008 at 4:28 pm
I LOVE painting. I painted my whole entire house by myself (all coats, all walls, all ceilings). And I’m going to do it again in a few months when we build another house. I back into walls all the time, so I usually have a painted bum : ) Paint in my hair…very normal. Up to my elbows, on my face, sometimes I have so much paint on my hands that when I wipe them on my clothing and then later go to change I realize I have paint all over my stomach or legs from it soaking through the material. And then I wonder about the professional painters I see who wear all white. I can’t wear all white when I’m just living (or sitting in one spot with nothing near me to stain it), I still get dirty. : ) Are you going to post pictures of the new pink room? Sounds fun!
September 24th, 2008 at 4:23 pm
good LOOOORD those are wrinkly wrists. you could pass for almost 30 in those wrists. oh…wait…
jo, i think you should come paint my kids’ rooms next. i’ll have the thrower call you. like he does every five minutes.
October 29th, 2009 at 8:46 am
Another comment on an old post, still working thru the archives-sorry Jo, please forgive me!
I just wanted to point out that at least you didnt end up like i did when i last decorated..possibly concussed with a mother of a bruise and a dent in the wall from my head!!
http://web.me.com/misssearles/MissSearles_Blog/Blog/Entries/2009/9/5_MissSearles_HQ_-_Part_1.html
MissSearles
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