Four years ago, I began to photograph sidewalk cracks. The patterns caught my attention.

I noticed them.

Six months ago, sidewalk cracks became an obsession. Every day I noticed new patterns. It was as though the sidewalks were speaking to me.

I envisioned painting a series of “Sidewalk Moments” abstract paintings.

My practical persona chimed in, eager to paint something that could reach more people, so I waited.

Recently, I noticed heliconia in yards where I hadn’t seen them before.

Eager to paint the flowers, I decided to incorporate the sidewalks with them, thinking they’d be a neutral background allowing the showy colors to shine.

A puzzled friend asked,

”Why sidewalks?
What are you trying to say?”

I thought I was simply painting patterns until it dawned on me while talking with Mari at the Art Kiosk at the Hilton —

I’m painting stress fractures!

That’s when I realized that the cracks in the sidewalks are showing me the ways in which the fabric of life has been stressed —

for - so - very - long.

It’s true of the world as a whole,
and of each of us individually.

Stress comes from the inside and the outside; from “underneath,” through underground movements in the earth, in our thoughts, the stories we tell ourselves — and from the movements “above ground,” in our outer world.

When we grow and stretch internally, we rub up against the outside world and feel stress.

We've been under compounded, compressed stress for 14 months; we're becoming inured to it.

Not a good thing.

Self-care is crucial. Even more than self-care, we must become aware of the stories we’re telling ourselves and one another.

Are your stories helpful or hurtful?

How do you feel when you tell them?

If you’re feeling a thrill of adrenaline, you might be tapping into collective fears.

True fear is an important feeling.

Heliconia Sidewalk is currently with the photographer/printer. Soon to be found in the Abstract and Fresh Paint Florals Portfolios

It’s good to know the source of your fear.

Fears generated by stories vs. things currently present in life can be detrimental to our physical and mental well-being.

The first time it happened, I was painting at the Hilton Hawaiian Village.

As I lifted a loaded paintbrush to the painting on the easel, my hand suddenly went back to touch the paper towel.  

What?

I hadn’t decided to touch the paper towel, my hand simply did it.

Since that day, my hand often spontaneously releases excess water & paint — apparently, the brush is too full!

This kind of experience is one reason to develop a painting practice.

Another reason is that when your mind is focused on painting, you’re distracted from the daily issues plaguing you.

This level of joyful focus opens you up to receive insight and inspiration for your painting and sometimes even for your life.

My friend, Rebecca calls this phenomenon “epiphany city” — that’s how often it can occur!

Taking a class is a great way to start painting.

Classes both inform and give you permission to set aside time for yourself each week.

 You deserve a “time of your own!”

If you enjoy painting, consider creating a painting practice for yourself.

By deliberately setting aside time to paint once, twice, or more each week, you signal to yourself, and to others, that you deserve a joy-filled life.

By making yourself a priority, you increase self-care, paint more often, and your paintings improve more quickly.

 For best results, schedule your practice ahead of time.
Look at your calendar to decide the best days and times to paint.
If this week is full, look at next week.  

Get started in 15 minutes!

You don’t need a dedicated spot to paint.

Watercolor is easy to set up & fast to clean up.

 Try a few different time slots to see which ones feel best, then commit to this window a few days or weeks in advance.

 Until your practice is a consistent part of life, keep it short, sweet, and regular. 

In the beginning, even if you have the time to paint longer, stick to 15 minutes.

If you increase your painting time too quickly, one day you’ll decide you can’t fit it in. You’ll skip a day and maybe the next. Pretty soon you’ve lost your rhythm and the slippery slope to not painting is paved.

I’ve been there.

The more often you paint, the more rewards you reap.

Sometimes, my hand drifts from the color I’d intended to use to another color on the palette. Imagine my surprise when, instead of blue, I see orange or red show up on my painting.

The first time this happened, I flinched.

Now I figure my painting can benefit from the surprise and I find a way to work with it.

One day, your hand will spontaneously touch the paper towel, or choose a color.

If a hand can receive guidance, and if it can be accepted so easily, maybe you can receive guidance in other areas of life as well.

Maybe the more you trust, the more you can receive.

When you’re focused on painting, you are in a mindful moment.

That’s when inspiration flies in like a breeze, so quickly and lightly that you don’t always realize it’s happened.

In those moments of flow, your batteries are recharged, and your heart & mind are inspired to new levels.

By distracting the thinking part of your brain, you become the observer of all that’s before you and within you. 

In this way, you’re meditating with eyes wide open, allowing the flow of synchronistic happenings to form a new hologram for you to follow.

This is all part of your Inner Wisdom. It’s always here with you, ready to fill you with enthusiasm.

Be playful and light. Wisdom is patient and all-loving. Time is elastic and when you’re ready, your wisdom is here for you. 

While it might seem like a big jump to go from receiving painting inspiration to life inspiration, it’s not.  

Watercolor is a great, patient teacher.

What is needed in a painting can be reflected as what is needed in your daily life.

Does your painting need more dark colors to give it more depth? Or a bright color to add spice?

Does it need to rest before your next painting session?

How about you?

Do you need time for reflection, a rest from all that you’re doing, or maybe a change of pace or of perspective, a little more spice?

Painting is the reason I moved to Hawaii. Painting with Watercolor taught me how to trust the painting process.

I keep learning to trust life.

If watercolor can teach me, it can teach you too!

Whenever we begin something new, there’s a learning curve. Sometimes it’s steep, sometimes it’s just a bump in the road.

Learning to paint is no different — except some of us have horror stories of harried teachers being brutal regarding our youthful creations.

So, we try harder. We focus, we clench.
We hold the brush as if our life depended on it.

Back when we were little, our parents encouraged us to color inside the lines.

It took time, but we successfully filled in lots of coloring books.

What if you’re taking a class, you’re learning to paint, and you have to draw the images to be painted?

YIKES!

It’s okay to be nervous. It’s okay to wish you could go back to coloring inside the lines.

Resist this urge! 

Beginning watercolor students often start by painting next to the outside lines of their shapes.

They paint the outside of things before filling the inside.

This gives them a sense of security that the painted shapes will be clear, crisp, & recognizable.

Their shapes will be “just right” (cue Goldilocks & the Three Bears).

Did you know that watercolor paint begins to be absorbed into the paper as soon as the brush makes contact?

It’s true.

While you’re busy painting the outside edges, the inside has begun to dry.

By the time you paint the inside, it doesn’t match the outside.

Instead, start to paint inside your shape.

When you begin to paint from inside the shape to the outside edges, the inside stays fluid and matches the outside.

By keeping your brush in contact with the paper for as long as possible, you achieve a smooth application of paint.

Smooth paint helps us feel the gentle, serene flow of the painting.

Sometimes, when you start to paint the inside and work your way to the outside, the edges get a little sloppy.

That’s okay.

The more often you paint from the inside out, the faster you’ll understand that the inside doesn’t need finessing.

Paint your inside with the confident speed of anticipation & joy.

By quickly painting the inside, you’ll have more time to give to the outside.

The outside edges respond well when we slow down to give them the attention they deserve.

We’re not so very different from our paintings.

When we care for our inside, our outside — the bits that interact with the world — can relax.

Our Inside provides a solid foundation for our outside.

The things that attract our attention have information for us that can help us make choices and decisions in our lives.

When we take the time to notice our surroundings or notice what captures our attention, we’re sure to learn something subtle about ourselves.

My latest palm frond painting (a work in progress) began when I noticed some dead palm fronds cut up and awaiting removal near my parked car. I took photos from different angles to capture their essence.

Later, while staffing the Hawaii Watercolor Society exhibit, I was drawn to two paintings showing a strong contrast of warm and cool colors. The colors, not the subject matter, captivated me.

When I began this palm frond painting, I did so in a rush. I was too impatient to sketch it all out before I starting to paint.

This painting wanted to be painted!

I didn’t know what the painting was about until I awoke around 3:30 AM with thoughts of being transported someplace that I really wanted to go. I wish I could remember where I went, alas, it’s vanished. Such is the nature of sleep and dreams.

That’s when I realized I’m painting the feeling of movement.

Palm fronds that fall to the Earth carry with them a remembrance of the wind in their tangled leaflets and the striations on their “hilt.” They wear their history in their beauty.

I'm facing a new move in my life, in a year already filled with inner and outer movement.

No wonder these fronds captured my attention. They’re reminding me that movement is essential to a healthy, vibrant, evolving life.

Almost, but not quite finished, this piece is titled, “Remembering the Wind”.

Move on!