Art, Inspiration, Creation
Art, like life is a Quandary - Learn to Simplify
6/29/2019 9:12:41 AM
I love meeting new people, they guide you, EVERYWHERE if you listen. Especially if you are open to the gentle push of your Creator, kneading you along the way.
Our cowboy model Wynn, who was 83, graduate from Harvard, and owned his own business, sold everything and ended up in Colorado. He had a life "experience" I can't recall, but it made him be much more present and living and experiencing life, which he spoke to my husband about and it made him more aware of this present moment. (which he needed)
Then We met Janet who suggested us go to the Strawberry hotsprings, 20 minutes out of town; and there we met Lillian, the make up artist, who suggested a good book called Show Your Work by Austin Kleon. (Which I will read), and recalled a poet, who spoke of life's Ebbs and Flows. She and I were talking about following our dreams and our 'work' and where our 'work' (aka artists' creations) takes us. And where there is an Ebb, a flow is around the corner.
Boy did I need to hear that!!!! I get so discouraged at times and feel more like a ball in a pinball machine, but ebb and flow, sounds much more peaceful and calming than a pinball machine. The thought of being tossed about with loud dings and crazy music has now been molded into a natural ebb and flow, with small smooth rocks that I have to flow around. Sounds much more graceful!
So I like to pass on my lessons to you. Don't fight what you are experiencing, Just experience it and know there will be a flow around the corner.
So the Springs were Healing! to my body, and mind. Thanks Lillian.
Happy creating!
6/27/2019 11:27:36 PM
I have been in Steamboat Springs, Colorado now for 3 days, and all I can say is EYE CANDY. I have travelled so many unusual and beautiful places, but none tops this place.
With my art being here, it prompted my husband and I to take a road trip out west. Being a member of American Women Artists, which is why my art is out here, I find out is a privilege. Over 900 members, and only 150 in the show. I am telling you-this is some dang good art!! I have met sculptors, other oil painters, water colorists, and pastelists, as well as mixed media.
AWA have been wonderful hosts. We painted at the Botanical Garden yesterday, and at John and Elizabeth Fawcett's house today.WHAT A TREAT!!!!! You must check out his art.
Their place was nestled in a valley where you could see two sets of snow capped mountains, a creek, woods, etc. A perfect setting. This was the largest turnout of women painters, or just artists, that I have attended for an event like this. And we all painted together, for the most part. We all enjoyed each other's company. I painted 3 quick sketches just to learn the colors of the area and the values of snowcapped mountains. I have a lot to learn about the Colorado landscape.
Below is the 3rd sketch, ignore the clip, but it is beginning to see the values and color difference. Below that is the photo of John & Elizabeth and Me. So excited to meet these guys. More heroes to check off my list.
Gives me reasons to keep painting and improving.
6/25/2019 8:08:24 AM
Driving across Kansas, in the blue covered wagon with minion eyes, where the sky melts into the road, and looks like you are headed straight for water, books on tape keep you from driving into the illusion and drowning. We did get a glimpse of the Monument Rocks, a natural phenomenon, is how it reads on the map, but not much of a phenomenon if you have ever visited under the ocean. ( Guess where it was? Oakley,Kansas where there is an Annie Oakley hotel. )What used to be underwater, now drying and cracking for thousands of years under the sun and strong winds, was a spectacular thought. When I find small fossils in my backyard, symbolizing another life, it is one thing, but this large fossil screaming, "Another world was here! A whole ecosystem different from this place occupied it longer than mankind has been alive!" Is was eyeopening and a wonderful experience.
My husband did ask if I wanted to stop and paint, but I said, "it would only be three swipes of color, green, yellow and blue". I memorized it.
We landed in Golden, Colorado, home of Coors Brewing. Yep, I ain't in Kansas anymore. The rich rolling hills beneath the Rockies, and large orangish rocks jutting out of the green mounds. In the distance, snow-capped mountains. We stopped and had a local beer and met a couple that had moved here from Silicon Valley. They gave us great advice to go to Fort Collins and head up Highway 14 toward Steamboat. They claim the drive is spectacular. So...not being on a set schedule. We are going to do it.
I am observing all the many different vegetation, colors, animals and feelings exposed at each location and staying in campgrounds with other adventurers that long for the open road, meeting new people and making common bonds. It makes me want to paint stories about travel and camaraderie.
Painting is like an adventure, every time you sit at your canvas. An exploration into new territory.
Happy Adventures today!
6/23/2019 11:02:30 AM
"Annie Oakley" is what my Doctor called me because I rode and trained horses during my pregnancies, up to two weeks before each child was born. He advised me not ride, but as he got to know me he basically said "Just be careful..and don't get bucked off". I can not help but think of my "Wild West" days as we head west. I also was a sharp shooter, always challenging people to beat me. I was a rough and tough little squirt, or so I thought. It served me well growing up and taking on training of many 1200 lb horses. I really aspired to be a stunt woman.
I created my own stunts, and it is a miracle or God's grace that I am here today. Mother would irritatingly tell me, "You are testing God". "Maybe" I would tell her, "or maybe he made me this way mom, and maybe he is testing me!". I would also get in trouble for back talking, whatever that was.
But today the danger ensues...It is storming and since we have a car, instead of a wagon, we are taking risks in this lovely weather where you can see maybe 50 feet in front of you. A friend sent me this quote today : "Risks must be taken, because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing." Leo F. Buscaglia
That is what Annie Oakley did. She took a risk, a women challenging men in 1875. But she created quite a life for herself and performed for Royalty. I bet no day was a dull day for her.
How does this relate to art? Because art can be risky business. Putting yourself out there, creating an emotion, or a feeling. Or just showing your talent. Putting stakes into yourself. I have to be reminded of this! Be fearless. I need to remember where I came from, the fearless "Annie Oakley. " persona that my Dr. gave me. Just shear determination to be my best. Thanks to people like Annie Oakley, against all odds and very sure of herself, reminding me, reminding you, that you-Can do it. Whatever your goal is! Look at her determined eyes, make that part of your spirit. ~Happy Creating, Jennifer
Annie Oakley (born Phoebe Ann Mosey; August 13, 1860 – November 3, 1926) was an American sharpshooter and exhibition shooter. Her talent first came to light when at age 15 she won a shooting match against traveling-show marksman Frank E. Butler, whom she later married.[1] The couple joined Buffalo Bill's Wild West show a few years later. Oakley became a renowned international star, performing before royalty and heads of state.
Oakley also was variously known as "Miss Annie Oakley", "Little Sure Shot", "Little Miss Sure Shot", "Watanya Cicilla", "Phoebe Anne Oakley", "Mrs. Annie Oakley", "Mrs. Annie Butler", and "Mrs. Frank Butler". Her death certificate gives her name as "Annie Oakley Butler".[2]
6/22/2019 2:50:34 PM
The wagon is loaded up, the horse is full of food, and my husband and are are ready to take our seats and head out west! Not exactly what I imagined when I was a kid, riding my horse out west, with a gun slung on the side, and my saddlebags full of food; looking forward to sleeping under the mysterious star filled skies. Ready for any occasion that might arise.
But it is close.
How far we have come as a society, from slowly progressing west in a horse and wagon with possible dangers around every corner, with weeks of travel ahead to this day and age, where there could still be dangers, but the percentage of death is lower, and time travel is exponentially better.
Plus, our food rationing, is minimized with the thousands of restaurants, grocery stores, and pitstops available along the way.
There is no excuse for an adventure today.
So we are packed, with a bed in the van, a destination, and a map (or GPS if needed).
We have given ourselves 3 days to get to Steamboat Springs, CO. Then there for a week and it is up for grabs. Whatever our whimsical selves have a notion to do. My thought is down to New Mexico. If we make it, great. If we find other things to do along the way…That will be great too.
My husband brought his guitar, I my paints, and hopefully we will stop and entertain ourselves along the way. Living, EXPERIENCING this life so wonderfully allowed us.
We definitely will be sleeping under the mysterious star filled skies…in a van with memory foam pillows; not on the ground with our head on our saddles, as I planned when I was 5.
None the less, it will be AN ADVENTURE! Keep up with us!
Nothing like inspiring your creative side, than getting outside of your limited view of life.
Happy Creating!
6/19/2019 7:23:43 PM
The moment we were born, the training began. I cry, I get held. I cry, I get food. I cry, someone changed my clothes.
It was guessed communication. Do you think we really knew what we needed or wanted? No. We were just uncomfortable.
It was the parents job to figure out what was making us uncomfortable. They determined our training, our needs and would try everything to get us to shut up! Then we grew up and maybe had kids and did the same thing. As we became aware of our surroundings, and realized we had someone wrapped around our fingers, we began to "get it" and get mischievous, or become beggars.
So we all had different but probably similar training in learning right from wrong, hopefully. But We ALL had training from people, parents, teachers, etc telling us the sky is blue, grass is green, desserts are orange, hot and dry. Those are flowers, these are mice, that is a dog.....These words became associations and our brain just locked in on that never questioning, or minimally questioning what is blue, for instance.
The more I learn, the more I realize the less I know, and that the world is filled with mysteries. Since I started meditating some years ago, probably 2012, and learned to be present, and still for 30 minutes to an hour, it has opened up a whole new idea of what I thought I knew. Anything is possible. I really believe that.
And it took someone showing me how they add a little Pthalo green into a sky and someone else showing me their painting of a yellow sky, before I quit painting all my skies blue. And guess what? I started OBSERVING (I suggest you try it too) the skies. They are purplish, pinkish, orange, green (not just in a storm), all shades of gray and many different shades of blue, and whether you are at sea, in a plane, over a dessert, or in Europe, it is different.
So I give you permission (you should give yourself permission) to forget EVERYTHING you know and approach life with all of your senses. Honestly- everyday is a new adventure chuck full of discoveries.
Be an explorer.
Try new things, do not limit yourself by what you think you know.
Happy Creating!
6/18/2019 10:44:56 AM
See yourself created and a creator
Art is all around us, in us, and us. Live life as though you had no attachments, and that you were given permission to joyfully create! What would that be like?
Be That.
Don't make the mistake of identifying yourself as the wrong person and let your artist slip away. I talk about this in previous blogs. The freedom of being yourself, and letting the creative one inside of you explore the world through the eyes of the creator, is so important and freeing. It is with distinction that artists have survived and thrived through the the years.
Before the technology we have now, artists were considered as valuable as Doctors. They studied the human anatomy for different reasons, and we take for granted how technical, scientific, and intuitive art really is.
Art is Chemistry: Just mixing colors is a chemical experiment, but there are proven formulas for specific colors and mixing them to get other colors, if you really want to use that periodic chart you memorized in school, you could!
Art is Drafting: Getting the right angles, and having multiple different shapes to keep it interesting, it takes lots of effort and conscious choices for this.
Art is Physics: Just ask a sculptor. Understanding how things behave whether colors, a mobile, a 3D image, what can be mixed, welded, etc.
Art is Psychological: How do I portray a story in a piece of art? It is overcoming defeat, overcoming fear.
Art is Philosophy: It can be used to portray religious, political, and emotional views. Or just to question many things about you, or the community or what is happening during a specific time period.
Art is Spatial Awareness: What are the relationships of the objects that you are portraying?
Art is Father Time: It stops whatever moment it was birthed in. How many times have you looked at a sculpture and felt the emotion and went back 2000 years to that moment? Just visit a museum, and see hundreds of frozen moments in time.
Art is Mathematics: As artists, we may not be aware, but we are using math...natural patterns, natural compositions, natural measurements, geometry, trajectories....
I could go on. Art is Science. Art is Technical.
Art is your surroundings.
Art is YOU.
Happy Creating!
Jennifer
All my best,
Jennifer
6/15/2019 6:24:26 AM
Every report card I would get from my teachers from the time I was in Kindergarten would have notes about -"Jennie needs to focus", "If she could focus she would do very well", "If Jennie would quit talking".....YOU get the picture. I was never on any drugs for ADHD, but all the signs suggested this. Later if life I did get tested for Adult ADHD and guess what....The tests were proving that I had it.
I refused any medication. I also realized that we are all becoming an entity of people with ADHD because of all of our options! We are becoming Masters at being distracted. I am not like this anymore. I have to focus in my line of work, being able to stay on tasks, finishing paintings and running my business. I trained horses for many years, and this too, was concentrated effort for 15-30 minutes to 1 hour.
One way to train yourself to be a Concentrator, and not a distractor, is to set small goals and accomplish them. Allow Victories in your life! Not only will this help your concentration, but will give you a sense of accomplishment. Doesn't that always feel good? That is why I am a fast painter I think.
I love the feeling of finishing something. For many years, and to this day, I will set a timer and force myself to paint a painting in a limited time. I do this Over and Over(1 day to 30 days at a time). Little did I know I was teaching myself with a technique called "chunking" . Doing small works of art over and over, bite-sized, retrains your neural pathways in your brain and creates a memory- improving your muscles in your brain! WHO KNEW?
Now I can paint all day from 7 am to 7pm if I want to, and it feel like a minute passed by. Here are 7 things to do to help improve your concentration:
1. Be concise and Inentional
2. Set Clear goals and victories
3. Be consistent
4. Avoid or remove distrations
5. Set time limits and allow for breaks
6. Take care of the mind and body
7. Practice
If you would like to read more about this: Please go to this page How to Improve Concentration
HAPPY CREATING!!
6/14/2019 5:32:23 AM
Isn't it everyday we find ourselves on some sort of crossroads? Whether it be the option to get angry at a bad driver or which isle to choose at the grocery store? Those are minor compared to what career to take, what painting to paint, where is the best place to spend my time?
How do you make choices? Do you over think them? Do you feel them? Analyze them?
Is one way better than another? One subject matter better than another?
With our world of constant distraction and everyone telling us what to do with commercials and google searches (Dr. Google I call it), it causes making choices a bit of a strain. With art, we are wondering if anyone else will like it? What will sell?
What if I convinced you that most matters in life -there is no right or wrong, just choices? Especially with art. If you are at a crossroads, and you do not know which way to go... and nothing is impeding you in either situation, then just take a step! It is better to move forward than to flounder. The energy behind a 'choice' and the movement to move forward will bring about change and progress. So don't just stand there. Remember ENY-MEANY-MINY-MO? Sometimes, it can be that simple.
Happy Creating!
6/12/2019 10:38:49 PM
You have a beautiful story. What you see and how you see-outside coming in, inside coming out. The question becomes...how do I express myself?
So often we look at others' paintings and we wonder why ours doesn't look like that, or is that good? Our judgment on ourselves becomes relentless to the point of paralysis and powerlessness. Sometimes it affects us so much that we give in and stop creating, or our creation process suffers greatly because nothing we do after this measures up.
We are not taking a math test here. There is really no right or wrong to art . Yes, suggested rules, suggested processes...but when you are divulging your story onto a canvas whether realistic, impressionistic, expressionistic, or abstract(ic); there is not right or wrong. There is only you, your story and the dance with the canvas.
The important aspect of what you are doing is the joy of painting! The depiction of story and the meaning behind the brush should only have one person to satisfy, and that is you. So Paint your story! Do not compare it to others making you feel less than yourself .... YES, you can still Aspire to be better and aspire greatness. we all have a story to tell and in different ways and practices. Be proud of where you are at this moment.
Keep Creating! Strut your stuff
6/11/2019 7:51:58 AM
I recently heard a story from Dandapani, who lived a monk's life for 10 years, and now is an inspirational speaker. His guru, Gurudeva (Sivaya Subramuniyaswami (January 5, 1927 – November 12, 2001) said on his death bed, "What an amazing life, I wouldn't have traded it for anything?
How does that make you feel about your life? It makes me smile. I look back on my life, with all of its multiple valleys and mountain tops and realize, I have had a ride too. I know I am not done yet. I am still working on more, enjoyment and bliss, relationships that make you laugh, people that make your smile, and art that makes every happy or pensive. What is it about this life that makes us keep going?
The real question here is...Are you in alignment with your purpose? When you ask yourself this question, where do you feel the answer? Does it make you cringe? Does it make your brain spin? Does it excite your heart? Does it baffle you?
You know you are Not in alignment when asking yourself this question, and all you can think is....If only I could do this...If only this would happen then I could do this...or I HAVE to do this before I can do what I want....I am going to tell you to stop that endless chatter.
You know your dreams. You know the ones...that nag, a little at a time.... God's voice whispering to you to do something... then you do not do it...it gets a little louder....you do not do it, until that Nagging becomes a constant struggle. Because you are still doing what you were not designed to do, but what the world is 'expecting' of you (you think). Stop that.
You have THIS one life you are working on now. Make the call to be in alignment with your true being. Live an AMAZING LIFE.
CREATE MORE!
6/10/2019 8:32:19 AM
One of our failures is not studying the right stuff enough! Whether you are a collector or an artist, knowing WHAT you are looking at and HOW it was created, is as important as creating something yourself, or collecting art.
Study this very small section of a larger Edgar Payne painting. You can see his IMPRIMATURA (underpainting or tonal wash)It looks like a very washy burnt sienna, or another warm reddish transparent wash.
The value behind the horses, is almost the same color as the ground plane (foreground) but with a lot more white in it, possibly a hint of yellow white, maybe a little blue, but the value is only one or two notches away from the ground plane. The horses are purer pigment, as they are the subject. Look at the RED spots, PURE PIGMENT. The white horse isn't white at all..but cream or yellowish or orangish.
Finally check out the brushstrokes, deliberate, yet free roaming. The shadows are underneath the top brushstrokes. SIMPLE!
If you are an artist....I challenge you to copy this and match the colors. recreate it in simple quick deliberate strokes, take less than an hour, 30 minutes would be better.
If you are a horse person, you would know these are polo ponies (their tales give it a way), or race ponies. He painted so many horses, these guys might have been from another painting...google Edgar Payne Horses
Study the masters that make your heart swell when you see their work, or when they take your breath away.
Below is the full painting: Mesa, Arizona
6/9/2019 1:32:56 PM
I believe I can contribute all of my successful moments and success in life to my ability to visualize what I wanted. I specifically remember, looking back, at that moment and what happened prior to it, either a day ahead or a year ahead. I would actually visualize what I wanted from an event, or a day, and I could actually "feel" the feeling of what it was like to accomplish even the smallest task of painting a certain subject and what it would look like when I finished.
Much like desiring a bowl of ice cream and making your mouth water, enough to put you in the car to drive to the local store and get your favorite flavor, is the same technique to use to visualize what you want that is bigger and better than ice cream.
Ice cream, although quite tasty, really doesn't serve your healthful or wealthful needs, but becoming a master at visualizing what you want, and how you are going to go about achieving it, can serve you for a lifetime, hopefully healthfully and wealthfully. How Does one become a master visualizer? you ask?
Well, simply, quieting your mind, FOCUS on your goal, FEEL what it would feel like to accomplish it (relate it to something you have already accomplished), and Put your EMOTIONS into it and REPEAT this daily, be PATIENT. Do not obsess over it, just make a joyful connection to it, and do not think about it again, until the next day, when it is time to visualize it again.
I have been utterly surprised and yet, expectant of moments and 'things' that have materialized in my life with this technique. It is like thinking of someone that you love, and suddenly they call you on the phone.
Try it!
All my Best,
Jennifer
6/8/2019 7:44:23 AM
Do you believe you can be the artist you want to be? Or is there doubt?
I think 'art' has a life of its own. It exists whether we create it or not. It is really the belief behind the art that makes it alive or dead. How many times we create something and then curse it into non-existence? Or file it into a file that will never be opened again? Is this how we should treat our creation? Even as undeveloped as it is, incubating under our will power?
Would we do that with an infant? File it away because it can not feed itself? Stuff it into a box? How would it grow? How would it become an adult?
What if we treated our art differently? Treating it more like an infant than a mistake. Keeping a record of its existence so that we can measure its growth. Were you in one of those families that put marks on the door posts showing how tall you grew from year to year? Remember the pride in growing 1" in 6 months? "Yep" you thought, "Now I am becoming an adult, growing out of this childish skin....they won't be able to tell me what to do anymore!" I do remember this, and I am NOT tall at all, and fortunately I wasn't born into a family of 6' tall individuals. Because I remember when I could look my parents, almost square in the eyes, and thought I knew it all-simply because the measure of how tall I stood to them?
I, like you, found out quite differently that just because we were the same height, didn't mean we had the same breadth. Here I am 51 and still learning that life, art, writing, and teaching is a growth process at every stage of life! That every mark on the wall, doesn't mean I am finished growing.
I think keeping your art more like a filing system that can be reviewed as you move on, might be beneficial. Each piece is an infant that needs nurturing. The compilation of growth stages will have its day of being "let go", particularly when it piles so high that it takes over your space. Consider being gentle with the process of growth, constant growth, learning what works, and what doesn't. Letting fear guide you to the finish line, and believing that you will and can progress beyond this moment, each time you approach a canvas. Believe in yourself, your process, and your art.
Happy Creating!
6/6/2019 8:02:54 AM
Artists, when totally submerged into their art, or while they are creating, definitely are living in an alternate place. A universe of their own. I have a magnet on my refrigerator that says "I know I am in my own world, It is OK-They all know me here". Isn't this so true? I have noticed when artists get together, their true personalities come out and being accepted isn't even a concern....because we are all excited or energized by the same thing-the ability to create.
As artists, we have accepted ourselves as creators, and what a high calling? But I believe this is not limited to just the art universe. It is in all of us, and we have denied our true nature. This is something I am so passionate about. Inspiring others to create, and be creative. Anyone in my opinion can copy something, but to dig deep and make it your own creation, getting ideas from other people and putting your own twist on it...that is creating. Are you a copyist or an artist?
I am not poo-pooing copyist, because there is a time when you must copy to learn the skills to become an artist. But when do you let the crutch go, and become your own inventive artist self? When do you enter your alternate reality? The place where magic lives and time slows or even vanishes, where someone has to wake you up to remind you that you need to eat! What a life we live, creating-playing-problem solving-immersed in color or design. Who needs a computer or a game or a television during these moments as we submerge into our alternate reality.
For the next two months I am going to explore my paint pushing and color choices to see what I can invent or create. I am not sure if there is anything new under the sun, but there is always room for something new in MY WORLD. The painting that I posted with this blog, was painted Plein Air on a very windy day where I had to hold my easel down, even with weights, to keep it from blowing off the big rocks at Cape San Blas, Florida. I remember the joyful state I was in, and immense energy from the wind. WHAT A CHALLENGE.....
I brought the then "unfinished" piece home and after two years, picked it up and added some strokes of color and a "story" or just interest. It now sits on my shelf, with 30 other pieces of experimental art, reminding me to do THIS again. To just experiment with art and create ART.
So if you are still a copyist, or a stressful artist, let that go. Just sit before your work of art and push paint or thread colors, or experiment with tools. Do something out of your ordinary box, and stretch the creative mind, that desires and wants to expand beyond reality. Beyond the norm....Ask yourself some 'What ifs" and see where it takes you.
Happy Creating today!
6/2/2019 9:12:58 AM
I am an early riser, and I so enjoy my time in the morning- quietly soaking in nature and its rhythms and the energetic hum of the earth as it flourishes with life again after a winter. I am always amazed at the cycles of life -season to season, each with its wonderful lessons, loving tenderness, and what we presume are harsh punishments with abrupt weather. But it is a phenomenon that we, as mankind, have tried to harness, understand, and focus on year after year, season after season. Isn't it one of the first things on your mind when you wake up? How cold is it? How hot is it? rain? shine? What do I clothe myself with today?
Not only do we observe the weather, the seasons, and death and rebirth of life, but the critters that flitter about that seem to sow together the experience of spring and summer. The constant chatter and singing and mating; the air becomes alive with smells and little vibrations, and if you take the time to sit in it, will energize you and make you part of its grand scheme.
Routinely in the mornings, I get my cup of hazelnut coffee, and when the weather is good and warm enough, I go outside and wonder about the earth around my house, settled in the countryside, soaking in nature usually when the sun is peaking over the hills. I will find the perfect spot, sometimes a different one, and sit and meditate or really just experience this great phenomenon-for 30 minutes, an hour, or however long. If I am quiet enough- I hear lessons.
Today I sat in my garden, surrounded by temporary plants and herbs I plant each season, as well as four trees I planted 7-10 years ago. After a long communion with nature in this spot, with my cat, Van Gogh, by my side, also meditating, I heard this lesson.
"See these beautiful trees you planted? See how full and happy they are? Now over 14 feet tall, they have an established life, one that may go on for many years, longer than yours. You planted those trees with an intention to have them there for awhile, and you watered them, nurtured them from a child almost. They look like they do not need you anymore. In reality, these few years are a very short time. Doesn't it make you feel good that with your intention, and focused energy, that these trees are on their own, happy and thriving? Everyday you admire their existence.
This is like any intention in your life. It may not take the form of a physical tree, but all intentions are like this tree and with a little watering, nurturing and care, those too will become a strong tree. Let the sun, earth, and the little critters help you weave intentions and sow them into the fabric of life. God, as you know, will bless this."
Wow. again. How often nature teaches me things about my personal existence. Now I share it with you. This is simplified as to how intention and manifest work. A simple intention carefully planted into the earth, metaphorically, watered daily, and watch it grow. Do not grasp it, just let it grow.
What are your intentions sitting down at a canvas to paint? Are you growing a thriving plant that received nurturing? Or are your intentions killing your plant? Something to think about. I was recently introduced to Brian Rutenberg, and abstract artist in New York, who has visits to his studio on Youtube. What a fabulous inspiration! I think in one of his first 4 visits to his studio he speaks of his life....and HOW MUCH FUN it is to wake up and know he is going to play in paint that day! I take this for granted! But not today.
This past Friday, I had 25 - 30 people over to paint Plein Air at my house. We ate, chatted, and also were very quiet while painting in nature. I saw my farm with that many sets of new eyes, and everyone loved the views and seemed to have wonderful time. It renewed my love for my house and the surrounding area. Even though I love it, it made it more special because I shared it. Don't you think the great designer intended for us to grow, flourish and soak in this creation shared with us? How special we should feel.
For the love of painting!
~Jennifer
