SARA NASH, LLC
GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA

Early in my graduate work in Mental Health Counseling, I impulsively bought a bunch of paints, brushes, and canvases and started to paint. I had no idea what I was doing, and I made a big mess. As an anxious and self-critical counseling student, I desperately needed ways to practice self-acceptance, intuition, and genuine expression. For me, painting was the perfect practice. Sometimes I hated what I made, but I grew from the process and thus came to love it. Ten years later, I’m still painting and still learning from the process. What I learn isn’t so much about the craft of painting as it is about life –that is–being vulnerable, relaxing versus forcing, taking risks, making messes, showing up, being present, getting out of my own way, and carrying on as well as I can in this beautiful difficult world. –Sara Nash, PhD, LMHC After I sold the painting, I missed it. I also wondered if that looser more wild way of painting was just a fluke. Some of my previous work has felt that way. No matter how successful the results, I could never reproduce the style. But I had some uninterrupted time on my hands, and I thought I’d give it a try on a larger canvas. I thought I’d try to show some of the depth of the forest, and the way the light was hitting the leaves and the ground. I was scared. Anytime I attempt to capture even some realistic elements of a photo in my paintings, I freak out. The familiar monologue starts up that I don’t have the skill or the training, and I should stick with what I’ve come to know, with what feels safe, and with what predictably sells. Sigh.