Paint-Challenged Limerick

Paint-Challenged Limerick
By Madeleine Begun Kane

My talent for painting is humble
And whenever I try it, I stumble.
Realistic’s my aim.
Then I fail and just claim
It’s an abstract, obscured by a scumble.

Note from Mad Kane: I can’t paint at all, and I never go near a paintbrush. But the new-to-me word “scumble” came up in a limerick prompt mailing list, and I couldn’t resist trying to use it.

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19 Responses to “Paint-Challenged Limerick”

  1. Hoot Gibson says:

    My talent for painting is humble.
    I once made an art teacher mumble,
    “If you’d just scribble and scrawl,
    You’d win it all,
    But you just try not to fumble!”

  2. Poet Laundry says:

    ha! :) thanks for the laugh Mad–and the new word!

  3. cool word scumble – yes often find myself tempted to do the same in many difficult endeavors. :-)

  4. how about continuing to avoid brushes and dive in with your fingers, just play with the colors and see what happens?

  5. Chris Papa says:

    To make his bright paintings humble,
    An artist would frequently SCUMBLE,
    The blurred image then,
    Would confuse the ken,
    So wasps looked like a bee bumble.

  6. I’m sure that’s what most famous abstract painters do too…lol

  7. Aw Mad – Really enjoyed this one – especially “scumble”! :)

  8. WabiSabi says:

    This is an accurate description of my art work! Thanks for the chuckles, as usual!

  9. That would be me–stumbling everywhere!

  10. Serena says:

    This depicts how I feel whenever I attempt a limerick! What is your secret?

  11. Kim Nelson says:

    LOL! As a budding painter, I get this perspective. I also know that if I let my hand and the paints do what they want to do, the result is much finer. The controlling mind is the enemy of real creation.

  12. panchali says:

    hahaha…It was easy to relate to this piece. Wonderful limerick, even I am so bad with paint n brush…LOL

  13. Libby says:

    Fun!

  14. madkane says:

    Thanks so much everyone for your lovely comments!

  15. Simon Grady says:

    Haha I’m still laughing, LOVELY!

  16. Emma says:

    I love limericks

  17. Sabio Lantz says:

    scumble
    got me to tumble
    in laugher about your abstract paintings

  18. Mary says:

    I used to think I couldn’t paint. Do go near a paintbrush. Give it a try…you might be surprised.

  19. madkane says:

    Thanks so much. I appreciate your comments!