A Little Bit Of Art Is Better Than No Art At All

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Eight years ago, when my son was just a newborn, my husband got really sick.

He was in-and-out of the hospital frequently and it felt like we spent more time in doctors’ offices than we did at home.

Not only was I a new mom, but unexpectedly I became the breadwinner of our family on an art business that was only a few tender years old and a caretaker as well.

During that challenging phase of my life, time, energy, and sleep were in short supply. 

Though I had one thing that was my saving grace: grocery shopping.

No matter what my week looked like, I fought tooth-and-nail to do the grocery shopping all by my lonesome.  

I didn’t care if I had to hire a babysitter. The rule was that grocery shopping was done by me and me alone.

Now…if you knew me personally, you would know I’m not a shopper. Unlike my husband, son, and mother, I didn’t get the shopping gene. It’s just not my jam.

Now-a-days especially I dodge going shopping at every cost.

But not then.  Nope. Nada. Noway.

And you want to know why?

The parking lot.

I lived for that grocery store parking lot.

The grocery store parking lot became my make-shift studio for almost a year.

You should have seen me. I was magnificent. I would rush through the grocery store as if I had just won a thousand dollar shopping spree and I only had two minutes to fill my cart.

Then, I would throw everything in the trunk of my car, take a long exhale, and sketch.

Sometimes I’d use watercolor. Sometimes ink. Sometimes oil pastels.

But those 20-25 minutes before I’d had to make my way home again — back to my responsibilities and new roles I had to navigate — those 20 minutes kept me alive and kicking.

Those 20 minutes were gold.

This past week and a half I’ve found myself in a similar predicament. 

Well, thankfully no-one is sick and I don’t have a newborn to attend to.

Instead, I’ve been on what I call “freight train mode” as I poured all my focus into the last final steps of launching my Painting The Feminine eCourse on my brand new teaching platform.

Even though I’ve been loving every second of it (OMG! I can’t wait to show you more!). I still feel a tad out-of-sorts if my fingers don’t touch art supplies in some form or fashion everyday.

So right before turning off the light to go to bed, I’ve been doing a tiny oil pastel drawing in my  5×5  Handbook Journal.

Oh how these tiny little diddys make me so very happy. So much so that I decided to share a few of them here with you. 

The thing I find is that a little bit of art can go a long way.

There’s something magical and healing about moving color around.  I find making lines, especially in black, soothes my whole body, mind, and soul.  

Interestingly, I ran my very first Painting The Feminine eCourse during that very challenging year I speak about here.  

Painting The Feminine is rooted in the belief that our creative practice is a necessary form of nourishment, sustenance, and joy.  And yes — sometimes in our lives we need to fight for it or whip up make-shift studios in grocery store parking lots or hire a babysitter once a week.  

But it’s important. It’s necessary. 

I’ll dare to even say that now-a-days it’s even crucial to our own mental wellbeing.

So today I just wanted to softly remind you: Making art can be (and should be) easy.  Don’t overthink it.  Don’t overdo it. Don’t make it hard on yourself.

A little bit of art will go a long way.

I promise.

And….if you want extra support and encouragement, come join me in my last “live” session of Painting The Feminine ever. 

We start on Monday — but my new teaching platform is up and running and there’s a module waiting for you to dive into immediately after you sign up.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO & TO REGISTER

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