Dreams, sketches, and my upcoming birthday sale!

“I dream. Sometimes I think that’s the only right thing to do” Haruki Murakami 

How often do you dream?

I’ve been dreaming a lot lately. Throughout the night as well as in the afternoon quiet when Isaac naps next to me, in the car and in the kitchen and while out walking in the neighborhood.

I’ve been dreaming about the art I have yet to create and the way life is unfolding, what Isaac will learn next and how to balance health and art and mamahood and business.

Not a small feat!

And in the midst of that dreaming, I decided one morning to line up these two paintings on my art table. My very first painting from 2013 (Dream Big) when I was just learning how to paint, and my most current in 2017 (Follow Your Own Bright Star):

What struck me is that while I’ve tried so many things in the past few years, experimenting with color and size and different supplies and so many animals, what’s stayed consistent are the messages most central to my heart: keep dreaming, trying, reaching, learning, exploring.

Putting the two paintings together like this warms my heart, almost as if they’re holding all that life and change and growth from the past few years inside the paint. Seeing progress visually is good for the soul, friends. It really is.

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Speaking of change, I’ve been pushing myself lately to try new things in my art and have been doing a lot of sketching in preparation for my next painting. Here are a few of my recent sketches:

I’ve been having so much fun! I broke out my favorite markers to bring life to the sketches and I love how the flowers pop from the page. The next step: make a rough sketch of my next painting. Stay tuned!

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

And of course: when I’m on mama time instead of artist time, we’re still doing plenty of exploring. Here’s Isaac’s first time in a pool last week. He LOVED it:

And he’s suddenly SO close to walking. He pulls up on everything, cruises the furniture, and gives me roughly 30 heart attacks a day with his fearlessness. Little guy, may your entire life be as adventurous and filled with curiosity as it is right now:

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

In other news, it’s birthday time! My 34th birthday is tomorrow and Isaac’s 1st birthday is in early June and I’m celebrating both with a 35% sale on ALL art prints and paintings.

This is easily the best deal I’ve had in a long time, friends!

If you’ve been wishing for a print or painting, save the date! I’ll send a reminder when the sale begins:

I never could have imagined at last year’s birthday what a beautiful, soul-changing, challenging year it would be. Here’s what I want to take with me into my new year:

Invent your world. Surround yourself with people, colors, sounds, and work that nourish your soul (S.A.R.K).

Here’s to creating the world we want to live in, step by step and dream by dream.

Challenge accepted!

With love,