". . . a brush with nature"

"IN THE END... We only regret the chances we didn't take, the relationships we were afraid to have, and the decisions we waited too long to make." 

Lewis Carroll said that. Powerful, isn’t it? 

Those words can apply to any aspect of anyone’s life, and most certainly they can have great relevance to that of an artist or other creative person. It’s scary (sometimes downright frightening) to put your work “out there” for the world to see and, sometimes, criticize harshly. But we still do it. We share the work we feel driven to create. We submit to juried shows. We offer our work for sale. We explore new mediums, opportunities, venues and the like. We continue to challenge ourselves . . . or, at least, we should. Sometimes things work out and sometimes they do not, but we can certainly gain something from each new experience whether it turns out to be a resounding success or not. Even what initially might feel like a failure can be turned into a success if something is learned from it. (Side note here - I have found that something learned can be as simple as, “I have now tried this once and I am not going to do it again because it just isn’t right for me.” That is still a big win because it is something I now know that I didn’t know before.)

The take away here is to step up and accept challenges even though they might be scary. You really don’t know what you can accomplish until you try. You also don’t know what you’re missing out on.

And, please, don’t procrastinate. Time, and chances, pass by so quickly.

In the end, you will regret the chances you didn’t take.

Most of our lives are filled with good intentions that we whole-heartedly intend to follow through on. Most of our kitchens are filled with good intentions, as well. I am a vegetarian and have been for many years, so I do have a lot of healthy foods like vegetables in our kitchen most of the time. But I really look forward to a great cup of coffee (or two) each day and was really tempted by the Hershey's Kisses that were laying around after we packed some up with other gifts for our grandkids last year at Valentines Day. 

The kisses that were left behind, paired with the coffee drinks I love, were just too hard to resist.  They also served as the inspiration for this painting. I decided to have the candies filled with "good intentions" (you know, the ones I should have been paying more attention to) so be sure to take a closer look at those little papers that stick out of the tops of those delicious candy kisses. You might be surprised by what you see written there!

It’s Alright to Be/Do You.

Just take a moment to think about that . . .

Boy, this is powerful if you are an artist or creative of any sort. I am paraphrasing here, but basically the idea is that it is alright to give yourself permission to create without inhibition. I read this extremely powerful thought somewhere many months ago and I want to share it with you here in my blog. 

It is alright to give yourself permission to create without inhibition.

The most important part of it to remember is that you have to allow yourself to create art without placing any restrictions or inhibitions on yourself. Create your art in a way that feels real and “right” for you. Be true to yourself and the vision that you have for your creative work, not what you think the world expects from you.

GIVE YOURSELF PERMISSION TO BE YOU.

Judy Garland said, “Remember, always be a first-rate version of yourself, and never a second-rate version of somebody else!”

I think what she said was right. Do you?

Happy creating!

This painting is about life . . . the bird(s) and the bees . . . life and death . . . and what happens in between. It is about working to create a meaningful, productive and fulfilled life in between the beginning and the end. Especially from the bees’ standpoint since they made the honey which then was used in the creation of the Mead. The bird is a bee-eater . . . well, you understand the rest of the story knowing that.

A lot happens for each of us between the beginning of our lives and the end. Some “happenings” are quite momentous, some take us by surprise. Sometimes something starts out small and seems quite inconsequential, but in the end, turns out to be life altering. It’s all life; it’s all happening around us each and every day, and we never know exactly what is going to happen until it does. It sure keeps things interesting.

I hope that you find joy and productivity in the things you choose to do while life is happening around you. Perhaps it will be sharing special time with someone you hold dear or maybe creating your next work of art. Whatever it is, enjoy the entirety of your life from beginning to end. Each new day really is a gift that is yours to unwrap.

Sometimes it’s fun and challenging to revisit a favorite painting subject over and over again. I know of landscape artists (plein air painters) that like to revisit the same location multiple times to capture the site in a different light or season. Sometimes artists are just so fond of a particular subject they never grow tired of painting it, whether it be a treasured still-life piece or a favorite model. Often, as in my case, it is a much-loved pet that has become an important part of our family.

Here I am sharing two quite different “takes” on the same subject . . . one of our beautiful cats, Cappuccino. This handsome boy spent much of his time looking at the outside world through our large living room windows. I painted him several times in this particular pose. 

As you can see, the two pieces are alike in some ways, but extremely different, as well. The basic pose that I started with is the same (it was his favorite, after all), but one piece is cropped in much more closely than the other. Of course, that isn’t the only difference. The most obvious being that one painting is done in pastel and the other in scratchboard completed with a few color highlights in ink.

Each of these pieces were challenging and fun. I am happy with both of them for different reasons and I couldn’t say which I like better. 

If you are another artist, I hope this encourages you to revisit subjects you most enjoy painting. Look for ways you can change and expand on your chosen subject either by trying another medium, exploring different lighting or even time of year. Take the challenge to discover a unique way to change things up on a theme you have already explored in the past. I bet you will be pleasantly surprised and even learn something new along the way.