The Forecast | June 28

 Art Without Permission

When I picked up my watercolor brush again, I wasn’t just learning to paint—I was unlearning years of shame. The kind whispered into my ear by people who said, “You’re not good at drawing,” or “That’s cheating,” or “Just use this, it’s fine.”

Sometimes they hand you a brush meant for acrylics and tell you it’s good enough.
Sometimes they say real artists don’t trace or use stencils or projectors.
Sometimes they act like shaking hands, trauma, or disability are limits instead of adaptations.

But here’s the truth:

It’s your art. It’s your spell. You decide how it’s cast.

Jason Funderberker among Forget-Me-Nots

I traced a frog because my hands were shaking too badly to sketch.

I used a soft brush from college instead of the cheap one I was told to use.
I painted forget-me-nots because they reminded me of the things I buried to survive.

And when I finished, I signed it with my name and marked it with a bean, because I may be growing slow, but I am still growing.

If tracing helps you explore color? Do it.
If your body needs tools to steady itself? Use them. If you're starting over and all you can do is paint backgrounds until it feels safe again? That counts.

Art is not about purity.
It is not about who suffers the most or who draws the straightest line.
Art is about claiming your own magic, in your own hands, in your own time.

So if you’ve ever been told you’re not “doing it right”—paint anyway.
Trace anyway.
Shake anyway.
Bloom anyway.

And when you do, sign your name with pride.

Because it’s not about being perfect.
It’s about being true.

Until Next Time,
The Divine Forecast