A little birdie told me...

That it's going to be a great day! Any day that I can wake up early and paint before I head off to work is a great day, or at very least a great start to my day.


This original 6"x6" oil painting is on a 1 ½" raised panel with sides painted gold. It is available for $130 here. Enjoy!

bluebird

This bluebird oil painting is 8"x8" on ¾" cradled board and is available, unframed, for $150 here.

This original 6"x6" oil painting is available, unframed, for $100 here.

some days...

Some days I am so blessed to have a painting sell before I even have time to list it for sale. This just happens to be one of them.

Here's how my day usually starts out...I do my best to get up as close to a 5:15 as I can. First, I turn on the coffee pot (so I don't have to wait for it to warm up later, because every minute counts) and then I take a quick shower.

Then I make my coffee, grab my brushes, which are hopefully clean and waiting from the evening before, and head into my studio (down the steps to my basement). I usually have at least a general idea of what I would Iike to paint. And I have my panel ready and waiting. Then I find one of many of my favorite podcasts to listen to.

Making sure my paints from the day before aren't dried out, I then replace the colors that need refreshed. Then I dive into my painting. The next hour goes by in what seems to be a heartbeat, a blink of an eye, a new york minute.

Then, at 6:45, it's time for me to drive my daughter to the bus stop. At that moment I need to either be finished, or choose to finish the following day, which isn't ideal because the paint dries too much. It's sure is a great way to not allow myself to overwork a painting,

I usually photograph the painting right before driving her to the bus. I post it on Instagram (quickest and easiest post) while we are waiting for her bus to arrive. Next I head home and get ready for work and do my best to get to the office by 7:30 for the next part of my day to begin. On this particular day I found out that this cute bird had already found a new home. A nice way to start a day, right? It really doesn't get any better than that!

Am I Crazy?

Even though there are days when I think I must be crazy to try to fit painting into an already busy schedule, I wouldn't give it up for the world. 

If you want to see more of my bird paintings, click here. 

sassy

This sassy bluebird is 6"x6" and painted in oil on 1/8" gesso panel, sold unframed, for $100 here.

saturday blue bird

This sweet blue bird was a fun bird to use for my painting demo this past Saturday. I've never really had people watch me paint before and I thought I might be nervous. I wasn't nervous at all. It was actually quite fun. I think the only challenge was that I am used to being by myself, completely lost in thought, when I paint. It was very different stopping to talk. But I really did enjoy it, and the painting turned out quite well, I think. Here's to new beginnings!

This original 6"x6" oil painting is available for purchase, unframed, here.

Here is a thought from Seth Godin that I thought was worth passing along...

Now is never (but here comes tomorrow) Everything you're working on is an investment in tomorrow.
While we can choose to enjoy the process, the end result is always at the end of an arc, always the result of many steps, of earning trust, of building a connection.
If you view any particular day without context, it is almost certain to be a failure. Because now never happens. The results always happen later.
Since later is just around the corner, today, right now, is the perfect time to begin.
Now is the moment we get to plant the seeds for later. 

big magic

Each morning choosing a title for my painting is much, much more challenging than creating the painting itself. They are usually pretty random. I actually keep a list of words and phrases that either sound fun, like I want to roll them around in my mind for a while, or else I pull them out of something inspiring that I've saved for one reason or another.

For today my title came from this quote that I found inspirational from artist Meredith Pardue.  This appeared in Elle Magazine.

"Create your work with passion, with ferocity, and do so from a place that is yours and yours alone.  Take elements that speak to you from those whose work you admire, take it from the world around you, TAKE it, and make it YOURS. Do it again. And again.  Work for it. Then work harder. Fail. Get up. Do it again. Work, work, work. It is not easy, and it is not fast. Do it anyway. Put in the thousands of hours. Put yourself at risk.  If you don’t, then you are not being innovative.  Someone will always be better than you.  That is ok. You are not here to compete or compare yourself with others. You are here to find your own way. Be innovative.  Work hard, and be relentless. Or go do something else—because forging a career as an artist is not for the faint of heart. 

Save money early on in your life, and take advantage of your youth and of compound interest.  Invest small amounts of money monthly throughout your college years and into your twenties, and you will have much more financial security later in your life without having to put out the money—freeing yourself from a stifling existence of working a job you dislike, freeing up your time to create.   Live below your means.  You do not have to live in NYC or a big city to be a successful artist.  

Do not compromise your work based upon what is trendy.  Keep your ego in check.  Travel—make it a priority, especially in your twenties.  You do not have to have a lot of money to see the world, and nothing opens your mind and enhances your perspective like traveling to new places.  Read.  Visit museums.  Educate yourself.  You will never “arrive.”  What you imagine or hope will be your greatest achievement or peak experience will probably be anticlimactic.  Most of your true successes will happen privately.  It is easy to be free in your twenties, but it gets more challenging as you get on in your life and your responsibilities increase, as you have a family—stay your course.  

So, I've got a lot of work ahead of me because I don't have the advantage of being in my 20's. But I do have plenty of perseverance, and I'm not afraid to work hard. This is great advice at any age, right?

"Big Magic" is part of my growing series of bird paintings titled "early bird." This original 6"x6" oil painting on ⅛" gesso panel is available, unframed, for $95 here.

confidence

Truth be told, something that I feel I am lacking in is confidence. It's crucial to creating a happy life. It's been a lifelong challenge for me and I do think I've come a long way. But I have a long way to go. Creating artwork and showing it to the world takes confidence. Lots. Not sure where I misplaced it along the way, but hoping to find my way back to it, one painting at a time.

This original oil painting is sold.

early bird

Well if the early bird catches the worm, I should have more worms than I know what to do with! Painting first thing every morning is my wonderful, peaceful, creative time. What better way to start the day, worms and all! This original 6"x6" oil painting is available, unframed, for $85 here. Click to Bid

sassy blue bird

Loving the process and letting myself get lost in the act of painting is so magical. I lose track of time and worries. In the craziness of life I need to count my blessings that this can happen at least sometimes, right? Can I wish to feel this way all the time? I hear it's possible... This original 6"x6" oil painting is available, unframed, for $85 here.

happy blue bird

This happy little bird is a commissioned painting for my friend Nancy, to add to her Kim Smith collection! Thanks so much for supporting my creativity Nancy!

little blue bird

This is the same as a painting that I did in January and sold at my show. A few people wanted the same one so I painted it again this morning. It's interesting to let some time pass and then paint something again, to see what changed. How cool would it be to choose a painting, a small one, of course, and paint it once a month for a year to see your progression...I may try that. Here is the one I did today...then I will post the original one...let me know what you think...