"Most of all, though, he asked his students to be brave. Without bravery, he instructed, they would never be able to realize the vaulting scope of their own capacities. Without bravery, they would never know the world as richly as it longs to be known. Without bravery, their lives would remain small—far smaller than they probably wanted their lives to be." — excerpt from Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert

I started to read this book a year ago. I wasn't ready for it then. Yesterday I started it all over again and the words spoke to me deeply. It got me thinking about my light, my capacities, why I create and how well I know myself and the world around me. Sometimes I feel painting or creating art is shallow or selfish, but when I read this I knew I was wrong. That painting, for me, is how I come to life, how I enrich the world, how I realize my capacities, how I work through thoughts, and emotions. And lately I haven't painted as much, mostly blaming it on lack of time. Realistically, painting with acrylics can be timely because of prepping, mixing and clean up. So I eliminated those excuses and painted with ink. Just two paint brushes, a small cup of ink, 4 pastels and paper. That's it. No more procrastination or excuses. From this point forward I'm committing to being brave and refusing to remain small and within my own limitations. Today I commit to creating one painting a day and sharing it with you. And even further, each painting I do will be offered to you. Because no more excuses and because I'm worth it and because my light makes this world a brighter place.

If you're interested in purchasing one of these paintings, please email me or go to Instagram to purchase immediately.