Finding my way to joy
I've made some exciting progress on my latest fox painting this week! Woohoo!
And what a journey this one has been.
I began with a vision of something abstract, atmospheric, and mysterious, inspired by my earlier painting Where Dreams Bloom
Apparently, the bears didn't get the memo!
I follow my intuition quite a bit when I paint, but I honestly can't remember another painting that has evolved quite like this one.
Usually, I begin with at least a vague idea of what I want to create.
This time, I had absolutely no intention beyond having fun experimenting with abstract marks, colors, and textures.
In fact, I thought it might eventually become a botanical abstract.
But when I returned to the painting the following day, I noticed the faint suggestion of a …
Well, that wasn't part of the plan!
There's a saying in the art world that sometimes you have to be willing to kill your darlings.
A rather morbid expression, don't you think? But yesterday afternoon, that's exactly what I had to do.
As I contimued working on my dreamy fox painting, I became overly committed to the beautiful purple flower in the upper right corner. I loved the flower, the colors, and all those wonderful little marks I’d made surrounding it.
The 3 questions I ask before I pick up a brush
Last week my fox went dark.
I'm working on a new painting, and in my head I could feel what I wanted it to be—light, atmospheric, soft and feminine.
But a few painting sessions in, I stood back and thought... hmmm.
Somewhere along the way, my dreamy fox had become decidedly moody…
How a new brush rocked my world
For me, Awakening represents those moments when something new begins to unfold. It speaks of possibility, intuition, and the quiet beauty that exists just beyond what we can immediately see. Rather than demanding attention, it invites contemplation, offering a peaceful place for the eye—and the spirit—to rest.
Whether displayed in a bedroom, reading nook, office, or living space, Awakening brings a sense of serenity, wonder, and gentle optimism to its surroundings.
Getting ready for Open Studios
Getting ready for Open Studios and 10th Anniversary specials.
More flexible fine art prints
Now offering fine art prints that are produced by the artist (me) with more flexibility in size customization (imagine the perfect art in the perfect size to fit your space) and faster turnaround.
You don’t need permission to create
You don’t need to decide the course of your life or your work today. You don’t need to make a declaration, set a goal, or commit to a grand plan.
There is no urgency here.
You are allowed to go slowly.
You are allowed to pause.
You are allowed to make or do things for the pure joy it brings you in the moment.
Belonging to a creativity
This week’s Threshold reflection explores the idea of belonging to a creative practice.
Devotion vs Discipline
Which made me think…What if creativity is less about discipline and more about devotion.
Discipline implies force.
Devotion implies care and desire.
The second reflection in the Threshold series explores this idea — and how creativity becomes easier when we approach it as a relationship rather than a task.
A willingness to arrive
Over the past winter I’ve been thinking a lot about the quieter side of creativity — the part that isn’t about productivity or achievement, but about relationship.
The relationship we have with making things.
I’ve been slowly creating a small video series of short reflections called Threshold. Each one explores a gentle doorway back into creative work — devotion, belonging, curiosity, and permission.
It’s just a move, not a mistake.
I was listening to a podcast recently, and they were talking about Notice how a GPS behaves when we miss a turn. It doesn’t sigh. It doesn’t scold. It doesn’t say, “You should have known better.”
It simply says: recalculating.
One of the hosts added something that stayed with me: we can’t know what we don’t know. It wasn’t a mistake—it was just a move…
