Category: Quote

The artist never entirely knows — We guess. We may be wrong, but we take leap after leap in the dark. ~Agnes de Mille

I’ve been busy with 100 day projects lately but it’s time to get back to posting on the blog.  It’s funny how you don’t mean to ignore something but suddenly you realize it’s been too long.

This quote resonates with me right now because I do feel like I’m taking leap after leap in the dark.  Trying new things, taking things in different directions, but the key thing is still taking the leap.  I’m learning to not worry about the outcome so much and to just have fun with it.

I was feeling in a spring mood this morning and wanted some pink in my life. Going through some of my old photos I found this beautiful pink flower and thought it would make the perfect backdrop for this quote.

It’s so easy to miss the small, beautiful things that are all around us at times. We get so caught up in life and all it’s distractions that we don’t always notice what’s right in front of us. This is just a good reminder for me to always be practicing mindfulness and living in the moment. Easier said then done but it’s always good to try right?

Do you see the flowers in your life?

Nothing is a waste of time if you use the experience wisely. ~Auguste Rodin

I’ve had so many experiences in my life that others might see as failures but I decided to see as an opportunity to learn something new. Sometimes you have to try something, make a small adjustment and try again. You can always build on what you’ve done before. That’s what using the experience wisely means to me.

Another way to look at it is practice and as an artist we should always be practicing. That really is the best way to improve.

Don’t try to be different. Just be good. To be good is different enough.
~Arthur Freed

I needed to see this quote today. Lately I’ve been spending a lot of time thinking about how I can be different with my art. This quote helps me realize I should probably focus more on being good at what I do. I like to try lots of new things so I don’t always spend enough time on any one of them to get truly good at them. Maybe now is the time to focus on just one or two areas and get better.

While I’ve improved my watercolor skills a lot over the last year I know there is still much to learn and so many ways I could improve my skill. I think that is where I’d like to focus.

What are some skills you’d like to improve? What would you like to be good at?

Happiness comes when your work and words are of benefit to yourself and others. ~Buddha

I’m usually a happy person but for most of January I was struggling. Feeling very bleh about everything and lacking any desire to really do anything. I think it might have to do with the short days and the general grayness of the winter season. This year it just seemed to hit me harder than it has in the past.

One thing that always seems to help is writing my morning pages and practicing gratitude. The writing helps me feel grounded and connected and the gratitude helps me remember how fortunate I am.

What helps you when you are just not feeling the happiness?

To practice any art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow. So do it. – Kurt Vonnegut

The tragedy of life is not that it ends so soon, but that we wait so long to begin it.  – W. M. Lewis

I invent nothing, I rediscover. – Auguste Rodin