You Just Are

What has made me think of writing “You Just Are?” Could it be age? Could it be the daily meditation practice? Maybe it’s the daily painting practice? Before I share the delightful possibilities, I will welcome new readers and share the purpose of this blog and today’s post.

Small Spaces Special Places

Welcome new readers! Each year, I select a theme for my weekly paintings. This year’s is “Small Spaces Special Places.” Why? I have been surprised, even delighted, with the small spaces in our house that have captured my eye.

Also, there are the special places I see on my daily dog walks. Each morning, rain or shine, I love getting outdoors and looking for things to paint. Sometimes, we venture on the road and I share paintings of special places from these trips, too.

If you think you will enjoy a weekly dose of unique artwork and musings on life, sign up here for this weekly blog. Let’s get to this week’s topic!

Latest Location

Last week we were camping and kayaking near Lake James and the mountains of North Carolina. We hiked and swam and cooked and shared wonderful moments with new and old friends. The skies were filled with fantastic clouds. Throughout that trek I drew everyday. But I never had time to paint. At first, this made me nervous. But then I eased into it and realized I would pull out the paints as soon as we got home. And, sure enough, that’s what happened.

Settling In

As we unpacked and cleaned our camping gear, it felt good to settle in and be home. The rituals of being at home are a bit different than being on the road and camping. Such as? Such as ye olde meditation session, Wim Hof breathing and yoga. I have been pretty consistent with each of these throughout the pandemic and into this year. But, when we’re on the road, our trusty camper is a smidge small for these activities. So I don’t do them, if at all, till other chores and activities are done. It’s almost as if being in the woods and away from wifi and cell creates it’s own form of quiet and meditation. It’s all good.

You Be You

The Pema Chodron meditation I shared above includes the phrase “You Just Are As You Are.” As I thought about today’s painting in particular, I had a sense that I will continue to work, read and practice my painting and drawing craft daily. But, thanks to this phrase, I will be letting go of wishing I was someone else or some other painter.

Instead, I am starting to think about the things that I do that are unique to me. Whether it’s brush strokes, procrastination, being an eager but slow learner, having scrambled eggs for breakfast, ha!, I am starting to see the beauty in accepting what I have to offer. If you are anything like me, than you can bet this is no small task.

Inspiration

All this thinking about being ‘just as you are’ is not a hindrance to being inspired by other artists. Check out Barbara Fugate’s amazing Plein Air painting entitled “View of Shi Shi, Washington Coastline, 2007” here.

Fugate’s painting inspires me to think about more juicy and chunky paint application. I actually did pile on the paint in this version of the landscape experiment this week. Shazam I am grateful for this painterly journey I am on.

Below is the first version I did of this painting using traditional colors (versus analogous colors, yellow, green and blue, in the previous painting).

There are so many other color combinations of this scene that I could try. Stay tuned on that.

And You

And how about you gentle reader? Are you thinking you’re wayyy beyond thinking about yourself? Do you feel comfortable in your own skin? That is so good to hear! If you can, please share how you got to this level of acceptance in the comments below and thank you!