No, I can’t paint. I am not an artist. Art is like a song with all its expression. We all have a song, but we place labels on ourselves or better identified as social norms. We all have skills. We all have talents and mine is definitely art. Yet sometimes I doubt. It’s bad.

Your art is not about technique. Art is about what you feel when you are painting. Art is YOU. I’ve always been spiritual and connected to the world around me, especially nature. My blue sketches are wonderful examples of the work I like to do, the work that brings me peace, and the work that comes from me.

I painted the above arrangement on thin sketchbook paper. I used Crayola tempera paint. I miss tempera paint. When I painted these blue flowers, I felt free. I painted faith. Here’s to more of this self-expression.

Here’s the blue doodle paintings that I thought were just doodles but now that I see them, I can see that this is what I should be doing. This is the work that warms my soul. There were not expectations other than to work with monotoes and practie painitng flower arrangements. Then I go and paint what I think is the real painting on watercolor paper and better paint. Often times that doesn’t work.

I am still working on my color palette. Yesterday as I was arriving home, I had an interesting thought. You paint lots of different flowers.

Maybe I need to rethink my palette. I, of course, was thinking about a lovely artist. She does amazing work. I felt an immense, I want what she has. I have been in this, there is only make mode. I have an idea. It may include the art I have seen or what nature inspires, but I paint every day. I don’t think about warm or cool colors. I just choose the colors that are on my mine. Or I’ll choose the color of the flowers that I see on my way home!

Then there’s my new project. It’s art lessons for life. The idea is to take leftover paint at the end of my painting sessions and paint swatches of color. Then I can reveal the flower shapes and use a pen to doodle. Only now I realize that is Morgan’s idea, not mine. Why do I have that doubt? I can paint flowers. I always do. I am am artist. I am an artist.

Art lessons for life is still in the works. Only now I am doing it my way. I have been thinking about trends, creating art from that perspective and of what I want and how can I get there. I’ll just take it one painting at a time.

The message in today’s journal page is to love what you love but make sure you are doing your own think. Don’t doubt what you do. Oh right Seth Godin wrote these words in his post. Success comes with a “That will never work.”

Have a good one!

With Love, Mireya