Being Our Best Selves
Recently I planned a getaway to a beautiful retreat spot. It’s always great to do but I was surprised to find that after a day of downtime, I just wanted to paint and so I left. Getting back to the studio felt so good. It quenched something in me and it got me...
Maintaining Connection in Difficult Times
The news can feel heartbreaking. I try to live and teach that to keep making our best art, we need to keep our focus on the internal instead of the external news. Paying attention to how we are feeling, what inspires, and what brings us alive is truly helpful....
Staying at the Helm in Your Practice
There’s a commercial aspect to art-making that can be a challenge. Once as an illustrator, I worked on a project that was so lucrative I couldn’t turn it down. However, the art direction was so specific and outside my taste that I ended up making something awful....
Connecting your Art to your Life
There’s an old shipyard near my studio. It's a place where I find beautiful patinaed colors and shapes amongst all the worn and broken pieces of boats. What’s so cool is that these things relate to my art. Going here strengthens this connection and gives me...
The essential ingredient in your Art
One thing is essential in your Art. It pretty much guarantees your progress. It can be lost but also, thankfully, quickly found, especially when we are reminded of it, which is the whole point of this Sunday's vlog. You might have already guessed, but I am talking...
Creating Your Art from Within
I’m often asked what it takes to be an artist. There are so many contributing factors. However, there is one that stands out above all the rest. Surprisingly, it is often the one that is overlooked the most. It is quite simple. It is you. It’s about looking inside...
Teaching your Art improves your Art
About 25 years ago, I worked in a small isolated studio. I'd work on my art all day long without seeing anyone, and I became lonely. As a result, I came up with the idea of maybe teaching a workshop to get me out around more people. As I was figuring out what to...
How to keep your Art Conversation going
How can we fit an art practice into a busy life? The stress of finding the time can cause you to stop making art. Getting into the studio frequently to keep the artistic fire burning is hard to pull off. However, connecting with your art in other ways daily can make...
Your Art is an Invitation
The art we make is like an invitation, first for ourselves and then for others. Like an actual invitation to a place or event, our art encourages those interested to come into our created world. So, it's crucial to understand how others experience that first glimpse,...
Look to your art to improve your art
Even if a painting is not working, I can always find some part I like. These are clues as to where to go next. Let me show you what I mean… Even in the mess we make, there's hope! Beautiful clues emerge, like certain colors together or how a line relates to a shape,...
