“We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty.” – Maya Angelou
Resilience
“Resilience is accepting your new reality, even if it’s less good than the one you had before. You can fight it, you can do nothing but scream about what you’ve lost, or you can accept that and try to put together something that’s good.” – Elizabeth Edwards
Adjusting my Sails
“The best view comes after the hardest climb.” – Unknown
More Progress
“A little progress each day adds up to big results.” – Unknown
Finishing Some Things, Starting Others
Find the confidence in whatever way you can to just keep moving onto the next page. The only way you will finish projects and get better is to keep moving forward. – Charles Forsman
A Raven and Technology Update
“There is virtue in work and there is virtue in rest. Use both and overlook neither.” – Alan Cohen
The Process of Progress
“Progress, of the best kind, is comparatively slow. Great results cannot be achieved at once, and we must be satisfied to advance in life as we walk, step by step.” – Samuel Smiles
Using What we Have
“Find your happiness, not by seeking more, but by appreciating what you already have.” – Frank Sonnenberg
Tying up some Loose Ends
“He who every morning plans the transactions of that day and follows that plan carries a thread that will guide him through the labyrinth of the most busy life.” ― Victor Hugo
Enjoying the Season
“Live in the sunshine. Swim in the sea. Drink in the wild air.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
FREE Brushes and a great July Sale
“Live in the sunshine, swim in the sea, drink in the wild air.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
Work and Play
Just living is not enough… one must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower. – Hans Christian Anderson
Finding Joy
Just follow your joy. Always. I think that if you do that, life will take you on the course that it’s meant to take you. – Jonathan Groff
Reflection
In any piece of art, the artist pours themselves into it. It becomes a reflection of who they are and what they believe. That’s what it has to be. Otherwise, it’s just a product. – Travis Knight
Baby Steps
Progress. Just make progress. It’s okay to have setbacks and the need for do-overs. It’s okay to draw a line in the sand and start over again – and again. Just make sure you’re moving the line forward. Move forward. Take baby steps… Then the change will come. And it will be good. – Lysa TerKeurst
Ups and Downs
I am the master of my fate, and I am the captain of my boat. While ups and downs are a part of everyone’s journey, how you face it makes you the person or artiste you are. – Jubin Nautiyal
Waiting for summer
“Stop waiting for Friday, for summer, for someone to fall in love with you. Happiness is achieved when you stop waiting for it and make the most of the moment you are in now. – Unknown
The Weight of Uncertainty
Beautiful is he who recognizes what is truly beautiful, even if the surface is ugly. Truthful is he who says what is true, even if the truth is ugly. Ugly is he who measures beauty by its exterior without first weighing the interior. And ugly is the man who judges harshly what he sees looking out, without first judging what he sees in the mirror. – Suzy Kassem
Allowing the Process
“The basic thing is that I want to do the best work possible, and I can only do that if I’m relaxed and have a lot of energy. And that can only come from taking time off.” — Jason Scott Lee
Something Old, Something New
“Old and new make the warp and woof of every moment. There is no thread that is not a twist of these two strands.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
Thoughts on our Painting Industry and ‘Recovery’
“Recovery is an important word and a vital concept. It means renewal of life and energy. Knowing how and when to recover may prove to be the most important skill in your life.” — James E. Loehr
Time Off
“Sometimes it’s important to work for that pot of gold. But other times it’s essential to take time off and to make sure that your most important decision in the day simply consists of choosing which color to slide down on the rainbow” – Douglas Pagels
NOW SHIPPING!
“It’s very important that we re-learn the art of resting and relaxing. Not only does it help prevent the onset of many illnesses that develop through chronic tension and worrying, but it allows us to clear our minds, focus, and find creative solutions to problems.” – Thich Nhat Hanh
Mission Accomplished
“Goals seem impossible only when you are not heading toward them.” – Mike Hawkins
Wrapping things up
“Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.” – Pablo Picasso
A Rather Boring Post
Nothing great is created suddenly, any more than a bunch of grapes or a fig. If you tell me that you desire a fig. I answer you that there must be time. Let it first blossom, then bear fruit, then ripen. – Epictetus
Glimpses of the Finish Line
“The race isn’t always to the swift, but to those who keep running.” – Anonymous
Following my own Advice
“Be true to yourself, stay focused, and stay you. Take advice from other folks, use what you can, but never mind what is not for you. For the most part, trust yourself and believe in what you are doing.” – Musiq Soulchild
The Graphics
“I strive for two things in design: simplicity and clarity. Great design is born of these two things.” – Lindon Leader
“Chilly Critters” Pre-Order
Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.” – Albert Einstein
New Creative Gifts
“If you seek flaws, you’ll find flaws. If you seek beauty, you’ll find that too.” – Donna Ashworth
Quality over Speed
“People forget how fast you did a job – but they remember how well you did it.” – Howard Newton
Stop Apologizing for Yourself
“There is nothing more tragic than to find an individual bogged down by the length of life, devoid of breadth.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.
The Wonderful Taste of Progress
“Be not afraid of going slowely, be afraid only of standing still.” – Chinese Proverb
Trusting the Process
“It is more important to go slow and gain the lessons you need along the journey than to rush the process and arrive at your destination empty.” – Germany Kent
The Dreaded “Blank Page”
“Do not wait to strike until the iron is hot; but make it hot by striking.” – William Butler Yates
New Projects and a Warning
“Rest when you’re weary. Refresh and renew yourself, your body, your mind, your spirit. Then get back to work.” – Ralph Marston
“This too Shall Pass”
Write in your heart that every day is the best day of the year. – Ralph Waldo Emerson
A Christmas Wish
“What if today, we were grateful for everything?” – Charlie Brown
Legacy
“The true meaning of life is to plant trees, under whose shade you do not expect to sit.” – Nelson Henderson
Coping with Hiccups
“When something bad happens you have three choices. You can let it define you. You can let it destroy you. Or you can let it strengthen you.” – Unknown
Resolute
“When the winds of change blow, some people build walls and others build windmills.” – Chinese Proverb
Resiliance
“Often what may appear as a detour in life is actually the most direct and empowering path to your destination.” – James Arthur Ray
“The Fuzzy Sheep”
“When we allow ourselves to adapt to different situations, life is easier.” – Catherine Pulsifer
Self-Care
“Rest when you’re weary. Refresh and renew yourself, your body, your mind, your spirit. Then get back to work.” – Ralph Marston
Applying what we Learn
“Develop a passion for learning. If you do, you will never cease to grow.” — Anthony J. D’Angelo
New Adventures
“Change is a measure of time and, in the autumn, time seems speeded up. What was is not and never again will be. What is, is change.” – Edwin Way Teale
Evolving
“Life is a moving, breathing thing. We have to be willing to constantly evolve. Perfection is constant transformation.” – Nia Peeples
Last Call for Critter Coven Box
“A great accomplishment shouldn’t be the end of the road, just the starting point for the next leap forward.” – Harvey Mackay
Feeling Creative
“Creative people should always be striving, they should always be hungry, they should be looking for the next place to go.” – Mel Brooks