Don’t Be Excellent
How often have you been derailed because you failed to meet an expectation? An exercise routine, a new diet, 365 days of blogging with an image?Striving for excellence is a…
365 Days is my personal practice of putting out words and images. My goal is to do a post a day for a year. In that time, I hope to transform myself and my art.
Gone To The Show
Snubsta took the day to drink mint tea with ginger biscuits. I did close to the same. But instead of chickadees, squirrels, and sunflowers, I watched ‘Rookie Historian Goo Have…
Becoming Masterful
Susan M. Weinschenk, Ph.D., says, "Mastery is a powerful motivator." The smallest signs of progress can motivate people to move forward. This is the reason social sites display the percentage…
The Struggle With Habits
I have been trying to establish healthy habits for what seems like a million years. In September, I began a practice of keeping a habit tracker. I gave it a…
Practice, Practice Practice
Radim Malinic, an award-winning graphics designer and the founder of Brand Nu, a Creative Branding Studio, writes about finding your creative voice in his 'book of ideas'. Like many others,…
Where is the love?
Somewhere along the way of creating a daily practice, I turned making art into a discipline. It has become a militaristic habit, and in doing so, something got lost. I…
On The Top
The upper half of the frame in an image is often a place of importance. Gods and Kings were placed in this area, often taking proportionally large space. You can…
Distraction
There is a chill in the air in Portugal today. This is my 92nd consecutive blog post. I watch distracted along with the rest of the world the sport of…
Safety, Generosity, and Saying Goodbye
Sian Barlow, a Welsh Artist whom I know through TCW2 has many ideas that cause one to stop and think. Recently she posted that safe spaces are not a realistic…
Ambiguity
In Wabi-Sabi for Artists, Designers Poets & Philosophers, Leonard Koren points to a description of Wabi-Sabi by contrasting the ideas to Modernism. He says Wabi-Sabi is “comfortable with ambiguity and…
Purple Calla Lilies
The grocery store had a shelf of calla lilies. They were strange colors, blue, black, and this deep purple that felt like it would wash off with watering. Calla lilies…
A Tropical Kingbird flies over to a favorite perch, showing us the beauty of her perfect wings.
Dreaming of a Better World
Years ago, I was part of a spiritual group that followed a lesser guru. I changed my life in many ways to follow the discipline. Meditation was a regular part…
Advice from a Mentor
I had a timely conversation with my mentor, Robin Griggs-Wood, today. I've been a bit stuck this week. Filled with doubt. I needed someone with a generous heart to meet…
Are You Generous?
In Seth Godin’s The Creative’s Workshop 2, the word ‘generosity’ has changed how I think about the subject. I have always thought myself to be a generous person, but it…
São Miguel, Açores
Richard and I spent a couple of days on the island of São Miguel, Açores, in Portugal. It was a welcome break from months of COVID-19 restrictions. We were there…
Sobriety
There is an assumption out there that says artists need to be drunk or stoned to access their best work. I just want to say, for the record, for me,…
How to Kill The Critic
You know the voice that tells you are not good enough for {insert your thing here}, or that you are too good for {insert your thing here}? This is the…
To Sign or Not to Sign
I am undecided about whether or not to sign my art and waffle back and forth. When I sold prints, I included a paper containing a description of the print…
Sizing Up The Triangle
I am thinking again about the Triangle. Along with the Circle and the Square, the Triangle is one of the basic shapes which are the building blocks of our known…
The Flower of Life
Sacred Geometry was thought to be a view into the mind of God. The shapes and designs were used as guides to many works of art. They arise from a…
Circling The Circle
You already know what a circle is, and you have been drawing it since you learned how to hold a crayon. The Circle is one of the foundational designs from which…
Original Authenticity
I have probably written about this before, but it is worth reminding myself about again. It has to do with having original ideas. You see, I don’t have anything new…
The Cheeky Vertical
The Vertical Line is energetically upbeat. It is the jump in the skip, the upward thrust. It is that which defies gravity, in which sense it knows something more. It…
Soft Focus
As I look at my habits checklist today, it’s 4 pm and there is not a single check under any habit. My energy is low and my routine is skewed.…