Color me Happy in Yellow with Sunflowers and more!

Being an artist you begin to notice all the little things. We notice the things that other people miss in the business of their daily lives.  It's so easy to forget that we have been given a special gift of awareness. A gift of seeing an abundance of colors when others see only gray. Have you noticed how as summer approaches the colors begin to shift from the pastels of spring to the bright yellows of summer.

The sun is directly over us and it lights up the garden in a different way. It's now becoming time for sunflowers and rudbeckia, for marigolds and peaches. They light up the yard like little beacons of sunlight and I love this time. 

When we take the time to sketch and paint we really become intimate with the thing we are painting, learning each curve, the colors, the turns and twists of the line that will reproduce it onto our paper or fabric with our own personal dynamic.

Take a moment to look around and to see something new today, something that is brightening up your day.  Take a moment to really take it in with the special artists appreciation.

This month my Mug Rug Club received a sunflower template for their pattern. I not only showed them how to do some reverse appliqué but I made a book bag with my little mug rug and sent them my first video insert! There are sunflowers everywhere!

Here's to filling your days with warm sunshine, sweet aromas and bright yellows! I hope you have a happy, sunshine sunflower day!

A question for you!

What would feel like a miracle to you right now?

I can't wait to hear from you!

Getting ready, set, go!

I am getting ready to go to Atlanta for an UpLevel your business conference. I am finding that it is making me very anxious and I don't know why. Possibly it is the accountability to my art business or maybe just traveling and all that entails, I'm not sure.

It is a big step and sometimes I sometimes I feel like I have such little feet.

This is one of those push outside of your box moments, that's for sure. In all the rush to get out I am finding it hard to just do art and that is what this is all about, right. For me, art helps me to relax and focus, something I need right now. Do you have those times too? Those crazy times when you can't find the time to create or you feel dry and unmotivated.

 Try doing something different and smaller so you can finish it. I happened to be working in the yard, trying to get my vegetable garden planted when I saw the dusty miller brightening up a dark corner in the yard. This grey/ green plant is really a wonderful accent in a yard. I grabbed a pencil and sketchbook just to sketch the wonderful lacey leaves. This unfinished sketch gave me something to work on over a few days as I grabbed a moment to just breath. It's not a masterpiece, just a sketch, so it was fun. I later outlined it and then waited a day for the flowers to open so I could show them separately. They are really nondescript compared to the bright foliage but when looked at on their own they are wonderful. 

Taking a few moments to be creative, even when you have to break them up into smaller sessions, will help you stay creative and motivated for those bigger projects later. It can be challenging to be creative during busy or stressful times which can lead to creative dry spells. I find that remembering to take a few minutes, doing what we love, will keeps those creative juices flowing during droughts!