Little Steps, Big Win.
You’ll never know what’s possible unless you begin.
“Great things are done by a series of small things brought together.”
– VINCENT VAN GOGH
Back in January, I decided I wanted to start sending out emails every week in order to stay connected with you and this growing community of artists. Through my free workshops and the Learning to See Course, I’ve had the opportunity to meet so many fantastic and creative people. The relationships and virtual community I see developing around me is much richer than anything I could have imagined would emerge from the creation of an online course.
I love getting feedback from the questions I pose at the end of each of these emails and the responses have been a huge help to me creatively. The problem, is that no one else gets to benefit from your thoughtful responses but me. It’s a closed circuit. So, I would like to shift the format and begin an open conversation.
I will be re-introducing some of the earlier inspiration Fridays throughout the summer, but this time, when you respond, you will be taken to an open conversation on my new Inspiration Friday page. I can’t wait to read your thoughts and I’m excited to see how this community moves these ideas forward. Get in on the conversation!
The Young Manzanita – 48″x24″ – Oil on Panel – Gabriel Mark Lipper
If I had a dollar for every time I’ve heard the complaint “My work is just not good enough” I could make an impressive purchase at Sotheby’s. The irony here is… whatever I bought at auction would have been created by an artist that felt the very same way at some point in their career.
I paint because I love painting. I find it can be both meditative and exhilarating. The act of observing, mixing, and applying paint, discovering color, and above all, creating is transformative. Time falls away and I could do it for hours. Actually, I DO do it for hours. At the end of the day, I may end up with something I love, or maybe I don’t, but I never question the value of the time I spend painting.
Time invested in your passion is the most wonderful gift you can give yourself and believe it or not, it’s a powerful way to show up for those you love most. When we carve out the time to water the seeds of creativity, we bloom. And what better time to begin the process of nurturing our creative soil than right now.
With some direction, some time, and a bit of dedication, the paintings begin to land, your discernment and abilities grow, and you start seeing the kinds of results that resonate for you as an artist… but even if the paintings don’t always work out, the act of showing up for ourselves and our work shifts who we are being in the world. Each “yes” moves us one step closer to our own masterpiece.