Paint It Forward

Paint It Forward

Many of you know that I am passionate about art because I know it can transform lives. It can bring peace in a hectic day. It can be used to generate a living. It can be used to increase feelings of well being in others. Time and time again I witness the growth of others because of art.

The Concept

Each month we will review emails from our readers, students and viewers who feel that someone they know would benefit from learning to paint. Perhaps it is someone who is extremely giving or someone who has recently experienced a loss or tragedy or perhaps someone feeling down. We will select one person a month who will be sent a beautiful painting package filled with everything they will need to complete a beginner project. Brushes, paint, surface, mediums and some special effects. Our goal is to ensure a beautiful package arrives and makes their day! We suggest that one day the recipient pay it forward by one day doing a good turn for another and so on. Not a new concept but now we are involving a little color!

How did the concept originate?

While sitting in a coffee shop staring at the swirling snow I had a memory of Christmas Holidays several years ago. I had bought my first house and was raising my little girl. When I bought the house, I did not know how much the bills would amount to or what it meant when people told me, "the house owns you". I did know that right before Christmas the furnace blew, the water heater stopped working, the roof had something mystical called an 'ice dam' and that I was behind on mortgage payments...the bank was calling. Having had a particularly stressful day I phoned my friends who invited me over for a beverage. Simply being in the presence of good people cheered me up and I began to feel better. One of them walked over to me and handed me a check. The check was enough to cover December and January's mortgage payments. Overwhelmed by the gesture I told them I would pay them back as soon as possible. They refused and simply said, "One day Willow you will be in a position to pay it forward. Don't pay us back just pay it forward one day". Paying it forward is really a simple concept and in fact is a concept that we should remember to engage in on a daily basis. Today as I was watching the swirling snow and thinking back it struck me that after the success of recent years it was time to Paint It Forward on a grander scale. Art changed my life, allowed me to work from home and raise my child. Art increases our feelings of self worth and well being each and every time we finish that little project. Art is transformative and our industry teaches it in such a manner that we offer it to anyone. Art is the vehicle for which many people forget their sorrows. I hope to share that with more and more people every day.

Guidelines

If you have a friend you feel may benefit from Paint It Forward, fill out the form below and tell us why you are nominating them. We ask that a possible recipient be a first time painter as our kits are geared towards beginners and we hope that perhaps you may paint it with them. Anyone who receives a package will remain anonymous unless they wish otherwise.

Due to the high volume of requests we are not able to respond to all emails. Please leave the shipping information of who you have nominated as well as their full name and address.

Click here to complete the form