It’s quiet here in the studio this morning. Everything seems absorbed by that quiet in the same way shock absorbers take the bump out of the ride. The skies are overcast a grey-white, the air is windless and a stillness hangs in the air in an inviting way. The earth seems at a brief standstill as it transitions into it’s next phase. I feel that too as a cycle of rest invites me in after a summer of creating my new body of …
While You Were Dreaming
Summer has disappeared in the review mirror as I write. I could say it should get a speeding ticket because it went by way too fast. But I won’t say that because it sounds pretty corny, right? I spent my summer soaking up all the sun I could and topping my vitamin D supply for the winter. At least that’s my story. All that time outside was a great time for pondering and reimagining my work. Generally when I go into the studio I just …
What I Learned About Effort From A Tibetan Master
I once studied with a Tibetan Lama who would often say “effort is the exit” as part of his teachings. He liked that phrase and recited it regularly. It’s simple and to the point. In fact, it has the quality of effortlessness built into it; a few simple words say a lot. But what exactly did he mean? Have you ever tried really hard to do something? Of course you have. We all have. In fact as children we were told by teachers and parents “you …
All Righty Then
There is a great story about Jim Carey (actually there are lots of them) but I was thinking about this one as I sat in the sunshine drinking my coffee. Jim Carey had a burning passion to break into show biz. He wanted to be famous. He wanted to earn 10 million dollars (that’s another good story). He used to think about these things a lot. He knew what HE wanted but one night as he lay on his bed he asked himself “what does my audience want?” …
Do You Know About The Red Thread?
I have a confession to make. I am a design junkie. I love to watch YouTube videos on design. It’s not surprising really. The principles of design are part of art whether consciously or not and art is an important feature in designing a warm and welcoming space. Art and design share many principles. I have a few favourite design YouTube channels that I’ll share at the end. One of my favourites recently shared a concept called “the red …
The Most Important Thing
What would be your best guess if I asked you “what is the most important element in getting people to create top level work”? I am curious because I recently read about a multi million dollar study that Google did to find out what made the most productive and successful work teams. What they found might surprise you. It surprised Google. They previously thought talent was the most important ingredient in the success cake …
Energy Experiment For Your Home (Kids Do Try This At Home)
About 25 years ago I studied Feng Shui with a local teacher. I learned a lot about how energy moves through spaces. It was a Western form of Feng shui called the Black Hat School where they believe that energy enters your home through the front door. As energy circulates through your home it impacts different aspects of your life. It’s like tai chi for your home. You do something on the physical level and the effects create change on the …
What Two 15 Minute Soaps Taught Me About Elections
When I was a teenager I would come home from school for lunch and my father and I would eat and watch soap operas together. There were 2 and they were 15 minutes each. My dad made fun of most everything and this was perfect ground for some lunchtime laughs. We enjoyed the over the top drama but especially appreciated when a new face would appear and we wouldn’t know who they were until someone called their name. Sometimes my father would be away …
What A Cigarette, The Orient Express And The World Today Have In Common
I think about the world a lot lately. Sometimes I send it love and prayers and hope for the best and other days I am afraid for us all. But there’s a story that keeps returning to me. Because sometimes what you can’t explain becomes clear in a story. In December 1975 my partner and I boarded the Orient Express in Paris bound for Greece (there are many stories in that week long trip without proper currency and visas to pass through …
Sometimes You Catch Things Sometimes You Don’t
People sometimes ask me why I paint, and on a bad day I sometimes ask myself the same. It’s mysterious really, the pull to return to the canvas day after day. My daughter has pointed out, as I stand in my paint splattered clothes that not everyone spends their time this way. Have you ever wondered what draws you to what you do? To what you love? For me over the years the answer to my question has come, perhaps strangely, as a recurring …
How I Hibernate Not Like A Bear
We are in the last act of hibernation season in my part of the world. As an artist living in the Pacific Northwest the bruised blue/grey skies of winter seep into my internal landscape. Rich green moss, red branches of arbutus and the green forest serve as exclamations of brightness against the sky. On my morning walk a hawk perches on a wintry branch by the path, an owl calls from a thick stand of fir. Magic is afoot. It seems so much is …
Do You Ever Make Mistakes?
Robert Motherwell said “I begin each painting with a series of mistakes” I love that! There is something freeing about those words. But what is a mistake anyway? Dictionaries define it as “a wrong action proceeding from faulty judgement, inattention or lack of knowledge; a goof up, a slip up.” But what if a mistake is just part of the process, something unintended, maybe something we don’t even like. And like Motherwell’s position, maybe …
Is Art Just Something You Hang Over The Couch?
Is art just something you hang over the couch? Is it simply an aspect of decor? Or can art be medicine? Is that a radical thought or just a weird one? I am imagining a meme that shows a doctor saying “Take two paintings and call me in the morning.” I’ve been thinking about this idea a lot lately, not the meme but art as medicine, art as a healing element in our lives. It's an idea that feels relevant in these difficult times. I …
Does Your Story Need A Rewrite?
Nature's Netflix has been showing in my backyard. One morning mallard visitors waddled down the gravel path, fuzzy ducklings in tow while I peeked out the window. I rooted for a tiny junco that had fallen from it’s nest as it was tended to on the ground by anxious parents. Skittish herons drop by spooked by our tiniest movement. But what really captured me was some serious owl and raven drama in several episodes. I have become …
How To Reinvent Yourself
Last week in a quiet studio moment I pulled out a few older works. One struck me in particular. “That doesn’t feel like me anymore” I thought and I put it up on the easel. Over the week I added paint and marks to it. At one point I marvelled that I hadn’t ruined it yet, which is always a possibility. It requires a bit of bravery as ruin is always close by and a real possibility. It rested on the easel and received more paint, some green …
Finding Peace Amidst Chaos
It’s been more than a hot minute since I last wrote a blog post— maybe more like a stone age ago. Some of you have been with me on this art/life journey since 2008 when I started blogging at ZenDotstudio, and some of you have recently boarded this little train. Welcome and all aboard. I have felt lost in the woods of life, roaming around in the hinterland of 2 moves and 18 months without a studio. Not to mention the pandemic-induced global …
What’s Missing In This World?
First of all I’d like to say welcome to all the new subscribers who’ve hopped on board while I’ve been off divesting myself of stuff, burning old paintings, packing, moving, looking for a new home on a new island and generally turning my life on its pointy little head. It’s been a time of change and transition, one that I was ready for and looking forward to. It’s offered lots of opportunity for spiritual practice but a lot less time (and …
How Do We Find Home?
How Do We Find "Home”? I’ve been thinking a lot about the idea of home as I get ready to leave one and find another. That's right, I'm moving! What makes a place home? Geographically, energetically, emotionally speaking. And how does a house turn into a home? How do the people who make up a place figure into the concept of home? And does a place choose us as much as we choose the place? I love this idea expressed by storyteller & …
The Tangle of Beauty & Heartache
Every day there is something to feel said or bad about. Someone kills themselves. Someone kills someone else. Or maybe no one kills anyone but there is a mood in your heart or out on the street that feels like someone did. In this world, where news and informations are instantly available to us at any time of day, it’s easy to get bummed out. I used to tell my daughter when she was a teenager who liked horror movies, I can get bummed out all …
How A Random Act of Kindness Transformed My Understanding of Art
A few weeks ago I was the recipient of a random act of kindness. I was sitting in my car waiting for someone when a man approached my window holding a lovely handmade pot and asked me if I’d like it. Turns out he was a potter who was randomly giving away pieces of his early work that he found less than perfect. To me it was perfectly wabi sabi and beautiful. I took the pot home, put a little plant in it and set it on my kitchen window …
What Do You Do When You’re Stuck?
Last fall was kind of like the movie “Groundhog Day” in my studio (except Bill Murray wasn’t there). My work felt stuck somewhere between I don’t really like this, I’ve painted this at least a thousand times before and didn’t Monet throw paintings out the window that got caught in trees? My paint scraper seemed stuck on repeat. I felt like I had reached the end of something but didn’t know where to go next. Maybe I should …