Drawing Connections

I’m feeling grateful and pleased that my painting, Head On Again, recently won first place at the 2024 Cold Wax International Juried Exhibition. Grateful, pleased and … lucky. What does luck have to do with it?

I fell into a period of creative hibernation after my brother Jim passed away suddenly in November. I was not expecting grief to take such a toll on my creative drive and ability. One thing that has helped is studio time that is free from intention and instead focused on simply enjoying the suspended moment of the present.

Social media platforms are masters at tapping into our cognitive biases and inclinations in order to keep us hooked — often at the expense of our mental energy, ability to focus, and self-esteem. Understanding what they’re up to is a first step in figuring out how to use social media in a more sustainable way.

Is it really fear we feel when we worry about what other people think about us or our work? Reframing “fear” in this context as “vulnerability” helps identify a range of useful strategies for thriving in an uncertain social environment.

Is it really fear we feel when we are in situations where we don’t know what we’re doing? Reframing “fear” in this context as “confusion” can help us identify a broad range of strategies for what to do when we feel out of our depth.

Is it fear that artists and writers feel when facing the blank canvas or page? Reframing fear in this context as uncertainty about how to make a start or keep going can help us identify concrete ways to become unstuck.

Sometimes what we label as fear is really uncertainty, confusion, or vulnerability. Read on to learn how reframing fear can lead to problem-solving solutions that are more useful than the vague encouragement to “be brave.”

Your brain’s tendency to keep reminding you of unfinished tasks can leave you feeling overwhelmed. But you can use the mental pull of the unfinished to your advantage in jumpstarting your day or starting something new.

Are unsolved problems rattling around in your brain and keeping you up and night? You can work to quiet this ongoing mental activity or you can harness it by calling on your subconscious for a problem-solving assist.

A quirk of human cognition is that we are much better at remembering the things we haven’t finished than we are at remembering the things we have. This can leave us stressed out and feeling unproductive. What to do?

In this short post, I reflect on the recent drivers of change in my artwork.

Practice strategies you can use to turbo-charge the knowledge construction that underlies expertise.

The problem with categorizing art and why I’ve decided to drop the “fine.”

Always trying to do your best can keep you from getting things done.

My new space is affecting my work in both expected and unexpected ways.

In this post, I share what I was thinking about while creating The Garden Makes Eve.

My Self Portrait, 2020, reflects what was going on in my mind at the height of the Covid-19 quarantine.

Expressing and exploring a love of color through the muted hues in my artwork.

Six strategies for maximizing your online art experience.

Limiting choices can give your brain a rest and, paradoxically, increase creativity.

An in-depth color course helped me rethink my haphazard approach to color.

An easy and inexpensive solution for organizing and storing large flat sheets of paper in a small studio.

Can we consciously change the way we subconsciously think?

In search of a sustainable way to live life amidst the noise of information and social media.

Writing is a great way to explore and clarify your own understanding of your artwork and art practice.

Is stress shutting down your creative brain or is it helping you to make creative leaps?

How does walking boost creativity and what kind of walking is the most effective?

“How do I motivate myself?” is the wrong question to ask.

How I made good on my intention to bring my art practice on holiday.

How to feed and nourish your brain to foster creativity.

What can you do when you’re suffering from a tired brain?

How can we outsmart our brains so that we draw what is there instead of what we think is there?

Research on astronauts has a lot to tell us about how to maintain our mental health in isolated and confined environments.

I have been interested in observing people and making art as far back as I can remember. Now, I’m combining these interests in my new blog.