What inspires you?

Inspirations can push us to do things we haven't tried before. They can help us be better people and they can help us be grounded and happy when things aren't going the way we want them to.

My inspirations constantly change. Sometimes I'm inspired by art - as I was by the recent Richard Diebenkorn works on paper I saw at the Greenberg Van Doren gallery. Sometimes I'm inspired by people, and what they do, like my friend Lisa, who is kind and giving and selfless and thinks/helps others before worrying or doing something for herself, or by my friend Janet who while waging a fierce but failed battle with cancer continued to work until she just couldn't and who I never ever heard say "why me?"

Right now I'm inspired by all the friends who are trying to carve careers as artists and friends who are trying to find new jobs. We're all trying to live the lives we want, to pay our bills, to find a balance, to not give up, to not say, "why me?"

I realized the next chapter of my life doesn't have to be work or art. I've sacrificed my art to look for work and sacrificed looking for work to paint. Maybe the next part of my life is painting. I know once I stop painting it's very very hard to get back to it and when you haven't worked in the corporate world for a while you start to worry that it will be hard to get back in the work groove.

Keep looking for your inspirations - I'm going to go get out my paints and create something.

what I've learned over the last few months

I've learned a lot over the last 6 months, including just how much I don't know about a bunch of things.

Here are some of the most important things I've learned:

I've learned not to be afraid either of failure or success. Putting your work out in the world can be scary, but regardless of what happens, doing something is better than doing nothing.

I've learned to experiment - the paintings I'm doing now look nothing like the work I did two years ago, or even last year for that matter.

I've learned to learn from others - it's not just about what you do, it's what you open yourself to learning and a willingness to be curious. I've asked people "how did you do that" dozens of times over the last 6 months.

I will continue to post and share both what I've learned and what I've created in these blog postings and will continue to explore other artist's blogs and websites to learn and grow as much as possible.

This has been an interesting 6 months. I was "downsized" in December and started painting pretty much full time. Being around art and artists all the time has influenced my work and helped me to grow creatively. I plan on using this blog to share my art, gain feedback and learn as much as I can from fellow artists.