It’s remarkable how the darkness of November grows. If you’re a light-loving Photogen, it is noticeably oppressive by Thanksgiving, celebrated by Americans as a national Holiday dedicated to celebrating gratitude. This day, in American culture, is often the kick-start to the holidays. And yet, overlapping the holidays is a time of great darkness. Wintertime is … More Times of Darkness: Grateful for Light

“It is necessary to write if the days are not to slip emptily by.” ~Vita Sackville-West Writing is like drinking water. The very action of showing up here typing these words, or groggily doing my morning pages a few minutes ago, is like the perkiness one feels coursing through one’s veins when one drinks that … More Why do you write?

If you have something that must come out, good or bad, it will come out in one form or other. The desire to create is like that. If no time is made to create as one usually does, the body makes time for it either by getting sick or finding another outlet. Here’s a teeny … More It Leaks Out Everywhere

In a forest village over the last two autumnal weekends, I uncovered the painful necessity of living and painting within my limits. Painting my portraits for passers-by drove home a two-fold lesson: First, look for accuracy in lines: with this I had to go slow and steady, focusing on each person’s face, asking “What sets … More Living and Painting within Limits

Hello dear readers, posts for this week and next will be paused. Our town is hosting the Flint Hills Shakespeare Festival, and I am honored to have a part in it by painting portraits and sharing some of my artwork! And since “Brevity is the soul of wit,” (Thank you Shakespear for this line) I … More Pausing for Shakespeare

Slow and small is okay when the going gets tough. You want to keep the trajectory going forward, upward, higher. Baby steps aren’t bad – they keep you pressing on instead of quitting. And this requires being aware and open to adjustment. James Clear in his 3-2-1 emails revisits this idea over and over. Mindset … More Adjusting Your Approach

When things get hard do you relish the experience, and take your time through those rocky areas? Or do you want the tough times to end soon, quickly, NOW? At work, I discovered that when I had to do menial small tasks like tape for painting, I was terrible. I couldn’t do a straight line, … More Slow Down There

Walking -or swimming- where others have been before you, where history has happened in front of you is a humbling and centering experience.  One free day while working in Richmond (see a Whole New World post), I explored the James River, particularly Belle Isle and disovered that rodeos aren’t only found in Kansas -or on … More Aquatic Rodeo

Todays post was delayed by the unpacking of the great big bells freshly delivered from France! Click to see some pics and read a few brief lines on the big beautiful things!