HappinessSkips175

Funny Thing…

A bit of a funny thing happened that resulted in the painting below (Happiness Skips). I was at Storybook Gardens with several of my grandchildren. There were a lot of children dancing on the outdoor stage there, and I was trying to get a photo of my granddaughter. When I got home and checked my photos, I found that I had missed my granddaughter altogether, and had this lovely photo of an unknown child. The pose was really too wonderful not to paint, and it is fine to publish since her face is not showing. I often say that paintings take on a life of their own, apparently photo references sometimes do too! 
Joy - abstract

Ignite Your Imagination

What follows is a link to an online article is Harvard Business Review. It’s about journaling, which of course can be very worthwhile too. Many creative people benefit from journaling. What really caught my attention though was the section with the title “Use Art to Ignite Your Imagination”. If you scroll down a bit before halfway, you can find that section and the interesting art exercise that is suggested. Here’s the link: “Want To Be An Outstanding Leader? Keep a Journal” by Nancy J. Adler. 
Buddies

Time

What gets in the way of your art. I’ve been reading more articles about creativity, and for most of us it comes down to convincing ourselves that being creative is very important: important enough to set aside time for it. I’m guilty too – too much time on the computer reading articles about creativity! Time to go paint instead. 
NewThoughts

New Thoughts

I hope that 2016 is a year when you get surprised – by yourself! Yes, that you surprise yourself. That you try something new, or try something old with a new boldness. That you surprise yourself by not caring as much if you fail at something because it means you tried something in a new way. Life is short. Only you can make it an adventure. Painting: “New Thoughts” by Cheryl O – acrylic collage with 22k gold foil and stone. Will be available at Westland Gallery preview show in January 2016.