Art

“I tried, I tried, and I tried to paint the whole night,” said the student, “I am afraid I don’t have the talent. I just drew lines on the paper. I put dollops of paint on whatever I could find. I think I only ended up wasting a lot of paint.”

“Let me see what you have done,” said the Tao.

So they walked to the drawing board.

“Wow! It is an amazing piece of mixed media art!” said the Tao, “I love the way the bowl of water sits next to the open paint bottles. The brushes cut strong lines, dividing the space. The colored blotches on white add such tremendous visual appeal. The torn paper accentuates the intrigue. And the painted oil lamps provide pivots for the eye to soak in the whole picture. Amazing work! You are way better than you think you are.”

“But ... but that was not what I was trying to create,” mumbled the student, apologetically.

“Now think what you can create when you try!” said the Tao.