Learning a brand new skill: The work it takes to have fun.

Having reached my late 40s, I have serious concerns about my ability to learn something new. This fear is debilitating as I think about personal renewal and building new things, because it puts an incredible amount of pressure on monetizing and applying what I already know. A broader range of possibilities would open up if I could prove to myself that I can learn completely new skills.?

As someone who enjoys observing and collecting paintings and sculptures, I chose to learn how to paint. My relationship with paintings has been of a consumer both a buyer of a large volume of paintings and as a viewer of “Portrait Artist of the Year” (Amazon Prime) on repeat. Now, can I truly be a painter and produce paintings that I am proud of? I wasn't sure.

Here is our living room that has to change every year to rotate art and sculptures.?

Like a good hyper consumer, my first task was easy - go to our local art store and buy a shit ton of supplies! After that, the struggle and fun began. The first drawings were atrocious, but luckily shame isn't one of my weaknesses.??

What I needed next was a fearless critic, one with an unfiltered voice, untainted by the whims of trends – someone who could give it to me straight from the heart. And, that was my 7 year old daughter, Amara.?

I loved that she was capable of laughing right in my face, telling me what I was doing was silly, all while cuddling with me.

I kept at it. And, they sucked (they still do). Meg and my friends were nice to me, but my daughter continued to be tough.?

Here is a quick collage of my sketches for the month of January - the 30 days: (dont worry I? killed the 10% worst ones, including the one that made my wife, Meg look like Javier Bardem (or did I?)…Thank god for comfortable couches.?And, no, don't look for Javier Bardem below.

Finally, the day came when she looked at a sketch (I could hear the gears clashing in her little head, I expected to laugh at it, but I liked it). And, then I get a hug with a “good job papa” before shoving the Nintendo Switch Controller into my hands and more trash about how she will make me eat dust at Mario Kart. Bring it sis.?

When I chose to paint portraits, I had to learn to get over the pretty massive barrier from pencil to paints. Wee S Ng , a network engineer turned INSANELY awesome painter from Nashville offered to help, I painted my first oil painting in his studio.?

Wee then became my daily feedback provider and cheer leader in encouraging me with subtle pointers and the right materials. Above is my first painting with paint at Wee’s studio. ?

Before you squint your eyes and agree with my daughter’s reaction, here is what ChatGPT 4 said, “The artist seems to have focused on capturing emotion through the use of heavy, impasto brushstrokes, which add a tactile quality to the work. The decision to leave some areas less defined contrasts with the detailed treatment of other features, which can create a sense of movement or an unfinished narrative.”

Thank you Generative AI. You are my true friend.?

As I continued. I had to a pick a style that spoke to me - a rule breaker, creating a new construct for portraits - I gravitated towards Egon Scheile , an early 20th-century art Austrian Painter that broke a bunch of parochial rules of portraiture: using non-natural colors with raw and emotive brushwork away from refined realistic styles, distorted figures over physical accuracy to communicate the psychological depth. His paintings are now known as some of the best .??

Here are some of my more recent paintings. As of now, I am copying to get my basics. My next big challenge is to find my own unique perspective and style.

As I reflect on this journey, here are some perspectives:?

• Being present and being focused: It takes me about 3-4 hours for each of the paintings above. And, during this time, I am deeply focused on the details of the painting. 3-4 hours was impossible to stay on task for me before. Now, I am able to write/ research and work for hours non-stop.?
• Details/ observation: The biggest difference between a good painting and a poor one is all about details and observation. I tend to notice the details more in things around me, I am more present with what I see, feel and hear. And, that makes for a better painting, but it makes for a better living.?
• Daily practice: I spend at least 2-3 hours every day painting. I paint in our living room, hanging around my family, mostly in the afternoon or after Amara goes to bed. After a couple of weeks, the daily walk to the easel becomes automatic.

While I am not ready to take commissions yet or ready to become a full time artist, I appreciate new lens to life painting has given me.?

As I continue to work on multiple ideas and opportunities on what I am going to invest the next few years of my life, painting has provided a nice counter-balance. Painting helps me find focus and joy of making progress when I hit a dead end at one of my ideas.

As an ardent listener of Tim Ferris' podcast - a common theme is how multi-dimensional successful performers are. The portfolio approach to life allows for transferable skills and seems to allow them to achieve things in more than one field of interest.

What are the completely brand new skills that you are working on? How is your journey going? What is the impact of these new skills on your profession? I would love to hear from you!