Life and memory (plus: new painting progress!)

“Remember: no matter what happens, you can still enjoy your life and be happy” Lori Deschene

Over here, June feels like one big celebration these days.

Isaac’s birthday is closely followed by our wedding anniversary (4 years this year!), which is closely followed by Father’s Day, which is closely followed by my business anniversary (3 years! more on that next time). Here’s one of my favorite wedding photos (photo by Lisa Schaffer):

I love the innocence of this picture. We’ve learned so much over the past few years about each other, parenthood, business, life. They’ve been hard years and beautiful years and I wouldn’t be who I am today without them. Thank you, life, for the memories we carry.

And we’ve been enjoying the days leading up to the summer solstice. I’m finding so much life and art inspiration just being out in the world:

While there’s so much in life we can’t control, we can always seek out the simple and beautiful things that make us happy. Fresh air, flowers. Celebrating each other. Sunshine and lots of color. It’s all within reach.

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Here’s one of my recent happy places: sprawled out on the living room floor on a cardboard box, beginning a new painting and hanging out with Eric. I first created a light sketch on this 16 x 20 wood panel as a starting off point, though I’ve already painted over it:

I’ve let myself begin painting without judgment and without a deadline. Working this way feels like a meditation.

More in-progress shots:

I’m interested in a new perspective for this painting, letting the flowers be large and the animals small, entering a world that’s dream-like and different. I can’t wait to see where this goes! Stay tuned.

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Last but not least, here’s my favorite recent thing:

In honor of Eric’s second Father’s Day, Isaac and I made him a gift. While Isaac doesn’t understand the concept of drawing yet, he loves to hold colored pencils and wave them at the paper. With a little patience on my part and some curious exploration on Isaac’s part, he created this first art piece for Eric. I love it:

It really is all about the simple things, isn’t it? I love that creativity blooms at such a young age – it’s amazing.

I hope you’re having a wonderful week, friends!

With love,