Three Ways to Grow

The way I see it these days, there are three ways to grow, dear reader. And, I will share those ways with you here today. But before I get too far down the road, here’s a hellooo and welcome to new readers. Also, I’ll offer a quick refresher to all of you about the purpose of this post and blog. Ready? Here we go!

Small Spaces Special Places

Each year, I select a theme for my weekly paintings. This year’s theme is “Small Spaces Special Places.” One of the reasons I chose this theme is I have been surprised, even delighted, with the small spaces in our house that have captured my eye.

I also love to venture out on walks with our dog everyday. You would be amazed at the glimpses of beautiful moments I see. Each morning, rain or shine, I love getting outdoors and looking for glimpses of special places.

This week the cold and rainy weather continued from the week before. Hello – it IS February right? And, while all my Northern and Midwestern relatives are buried in snow, here in NC, we’re just slogging our way through a few rain storms. Context is everything right? Which brings me to my first thought about ‘growth.’

Growth

What exactly do I mean by growth? Welp, you decide. But if you’re pursuing a craft or seeking a change in life or even just living each day in this current mayhem, it usually involves growth on a personal level. Don’t you think?

Heck, even though I’m…you know…older, I still seek growth in my personal creative quest of drawing and painting each day. So I have been reflecting on what helps me grow and thought I would share it with you.

These thoughts came to me as I worked on this week’s painting from my imagination. Here it is. The three trees on the left inspired the thinking of three ways to grow.

Recall that the weather is rotten but I do want to paint trees and lovely landscapes. So, this week’s solution is to paint from ideas in my mind. For you non-painters out there, can I just say, this painting from imagination – for me – is new and fantastic challenge. But, is it all pink ponies and unicorns as I paint? H-e-double toothpick “No!” This brings me to the first stage of growth: struggle.

Struggle

Doing and learning something new will be a struggle. In fact, just writing this now reminds me of a struggle in a previous previous life. Years ago, I had been recruited away from a comfy corporate day job to work for a software startup. As a 39 year old single woman, I was sooo ready for something new.

This new job was a pure and simple sales job. That’s it. And, because I was the first person hired to do the selling, I had to start making the most dreaded type of calls ever: cold calls. Let’s just say I applied the same practice to my professional life that I using in my personal life. I was calling and calling but not getting any serious interest from anyone. Something had to change. And, so I researched sales training options for myself and invested my own time and resources.

The solution I chose combined good ol’ psychology, grit and accountability. It also is a technique perfected by Mr “Just One More Thing.” Did I still struggle? Of course, wouldn’t you if you were making cold calls all day? But in a relatively short amount of time, days/weeks, I noticed something.

Garbage Days

A big learn that I still believe is relevant today is Garbage Day. That is, you, dear reader, may experience disappointment, rejection, frustration and disappointment. This entitles you to label the days of these feelings “Garbage Days.” Guess what usually happens after Garbage Days? Breakthroughs! This knowledge helps me carry on even on days when I get more rejection than anything else.

And believe it or not, Garbage Days happen in drawing and painting and just about any situation.

Change

Struggle and Garbage Days lead to change. And, if there is one thing we all know we’ll face, like it or not, it’s change. So even though struggling at something makes my stomach tighten and my brow furrow. I press on because I know the sun rises after Garbage Day.

And, if I have times that I feel stuck, I pursue the third nifty way to growth, I copy! Copy?

Copy

Yes Copy! This may seem more relevant in the art world where we seek out a fantastic drawing or painting and…yes…copy it. This is something I did this week as I pursue better understanding of trees.

This is a copy from the fantastic book entitled “The Artistic Anatomy of Trees” by Rex Vicat Cole. This book is rich with art history and details of all things trees. There are drawings by the author and other artists. Every single drawing is beautiful.

And, I think there’s room for copying in settings outside the art world too. My sense is it would involve roll playing, practicing out loud, if you’re in sales watching Colombo episodes and many other forms of copying.

So, there you have it! Three ways to grow and learn: struggle, change and copy. But wait, there’s more. I encourage you dear reader to pick one day over the next four days, go outside and look up. Why?

Bonus

This probably seems like a big unrelated topic to this blog but really it’s not. There is nothing better to do (in my mind anyway) whether things are going well or not, than going outside. Wait…it’s even better to go outside and go for a walk this week. Why? Right now, starting February 12 through February 15, if you go outside, look up and see a bird, you can report it as a part of a huge worldwide project. That’s right! This week is the Great Backyard Bird Count!

Sign up and find out all the details here.

So there you have it dear reader, three ideas for growth and a bird bonus! Doesn’t get much better than that, does it? What about you? Have you got some suggestions to these ideas for growth? What systems have you used to improve at your craft? Does it include bird watching too? So many questions for you this week.

For Sale

Before you share your thoughts in the comments below, just a gentle reminder that all these paintings and drawings I share are for sale! The painting is $100 and the sketch is $15. You can contact me to inquire about these works of art today.

Thank you for reading here today. I hope you have some further input to share in the comments below.