How I want my art to feel (to you)

It’s not very often that I get all deep and meaningful or vulnerable (at least publicly anyway). I am an introvert and I like to keep many parts of me guarded and close.

But I was working (not so much working as playing, actually) in my sketchbook and felt the need to share some things. I was having the best time, really. With soft lights (Christmas lights that I keep up year-round), and stillness and peace, I was just enjoying the process of watching the watery paint meet the paper. It felt like therapy - calmness and joy all wrapped up into one moment.

But then it occurred to me that I’d like for you to feel that way too. I want you to feel like someone wrapped you up in a warm, soft sweater and made some tea for you. And then, invited you to sit on a porch swing and drink in the day - sun shining, birds singing, and frogs talking. Maybe a cool morning or evening, but one with a soft warm breeze and air that smells like flowers or fresh rain.

In this busy life of mine, I want those peaceful moments. I want them for me and I want them for you, too. After the kids have gone to sleep, and dinner dishes have been cleared, and maybe that pile of laundry waits on the couch for tomorrow . . . and you get a moment to be present. I want my art to give you that kind of respite - even for a moment. I want you to feel good - uplifted, present, anchored, and maybe even encouraged.

I don’t know if art can do all of that, but I know that’s how I feel when I paint. And I hope a little piece of that gets transferred from me to you.

Thanks for being here with me.