Lisa Hebden

I’ve just become part of a new book club. I’ve never been in a book club before, but our first meeting was a hoot: plum danish, prosciutto & dates, wine…oh, and books. The suggested first book was Three Cups of Tea: One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Time by Greg Mortensen and David Oliver Relin. It reads like a novel of Greg Mortensen’s adventures with climbing, but mostly about his passion to make schools for children in remote Pakistan.

I’m not actually reading it, but listening to the unabridged audio book while I paint. I love to do this, and I highly recommend it to other painters. My analytical (read: critical) mind escapes to the Himalayas to leave my creative mind to completely deviate from my planned paintings, and make something unexpected. Isn’t that what every painter wants?

The book is inspiring and humbling. Alone in my studio, it makes me think about the “purpose” of paintings, and how they can help others. Donating a few pieces a year to fund-raising auctions feels good, but building a school for poor kids? Not quite the same thing. I’m sure there’s a way for artists to do some good out there in our own painterly fashion…Ideas?