You Can’t Please Everyone
Is everyone going to like your art? No. That might sound tough, but it’s absolutely true. And once we understand that, we can move forward.
Do Not Compare
We humans love to compare our lives with others, don’t we? Social media drives a lot of this, but it’s also part of our human condition. We compare our houses, our cars, our children, our jobs, … we’ll compare just about anything. And when we do, it doesn’t always make us feel good. So why do we do it?
Resolutions & Focus
As we close out one year and look forward to another, we often find ourselves making New Years resolutions. And as we move through the year, how long do those resolutions last? If they don’t last, why don’t they? Sometimes I wonder if the culprit for ill-fated resolutions is actually our overall focus.
Keep the Hope Alive
Being an artist and trying to build a creative small business is not for the faint of heart, and some might say it might not be good for one’s mental health. Why is that? For me painting is extremely therapeutic, but the business side can be so stressful.
Make a Plan
As I write this blog post, I’m taking a break from planning my social media marketing for this year’s Holiday Shop. Marketing planning is a bit different from watercolor planning, but the process is similar.
Be Kind to Yourself
How often do we get frustrated, angry, irritated, impatient with ourselves? More often than we’d like to admit, right? Most of us are raised to be kind to others, but does others include ourselves?
Value the Layers
Cakes have layers; onions have layers; ogres have layers; and watercolors have layers. As Shrek tried to teach us, there’s more to ogres that what we first see, and the same is true with watercolors and life.
Appreciate the Moment
What are you doing right now? Who is with you? Are you taking it all in… even the little things? In today’s world, we find ourselves constantly busy… not always productive… but doing something. How often do you pause, take it all in, and appreciate the moment – whatever that moment might be?
Practice, Practice, Practice
How do we develop our craft? How do we improve? How do we become more comfortable with our technique?
Believe in Yourself
Sometimes one of our biggest challenges as an artist is actually believing in ourselves… in our skills… in our goals… in our ability to create.
Things Can Look Better in the Morning
Have you noticed that life at night can look different that life in the morning? Well, the same can be said for our artistic creations.
Never Give Up
Sometimes paintings get messy and so does life. But one thing painting has taught me is to never give up… see it through to the end.
Get a New Perspective
Happy New Year, my friends! As we turn the page to a new year, it’s a great time to see things in a new way… to get a new perspective.
