Thoughtful Thursday Benefits of Artwork in your Home

Did you know, art in any form has a monumental affect on your brain? Having art in your home is as important as having a bed. Studies have shown that when looking at art it can trigger a surge of dopamine which affects your mood. Depending on what you’re specifically looking at you can feel love, calmness, relaxation, joy and happiness to name a few.

Bare walls can be make you feel sad, depressed and even lonely. But having art in some form in your home whether a photo, print, painting, sculpture or anything else you can think of can completely change the mood of a room. Looking at artwork can reduce stress levels, increase awareness, boost creativity, improve problem solving skills and much more. Plus it can be a great investment too!

Express yourself with different forms of art throughout your home. You can use it as a color palette for decorating your home or strategically place it in a room as a conversation piece. You can also add artwork to a room to create a feeling of warmth and serenity.

Whatever your style is, collect art to evoke happiness and well being throughout your home! It will most certainly have a positive impact on your life!

Thanks for stopping by!!

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Simplest Things Journal

Before getting back to business in the studio (and there’s lots to do), I had a bit more fun creating in my Simplest Things Journal. I’m finally getting that fall vibe going on and made this new page with splashes of fall colors. I don’t know why, but I really love the messiness of this design. It’s a bit chaotic but also calming.

I also used a few of the wildflower inchies from my stash to create several more pages. For the most part even though they don’t have a fall vibe going on, they’re dreaming they do😊 🍂🍁 My favorite flower inchie is the red one, it really pops!

Which is your favorite page?

Hope this inspires you to create art today, thanks for stopping by!!!

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“I can smell the autumn dancing in the breeze. The sweet chill of pumpkin and crisp sunburnt leaves.” ~Unknown

Simplest Things Journal

I’ve been busy with so many things that I’ve been neglecting my Simplest Things Journal. So I thought it would be a good idea to create something new and give my mind a break. The original inspiration for creating these journal pages came from Amy Maricle’s Simplest Things Challenge at Mindful Art Studios.

What I love most in creating these designs is it’s a great way to unwind and destress. You create interesting art, in a short amount of time with simple elements like lines, circles, droplets or anything else you can think of. There are no rules, just create and have fun!

I’m a huge fan of color, the more, the merrier! So for me to leave a design mostly black and white or with minimal color takes great restraint on my part. Sometimes my inner muse, you know the one who’s color crazy, wins the fight 😂

These are a few new pages in my journal. They’re similar but different.

Hope they inspire you to create art today, thanks for stopping by!!!

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“Color is a super power that directly influences the soul.” ~Wassily Kandinsky

Thoughtful Thursday Words of Wisdom by Tom Ziglar

As you may know I’m a collector of quotes. These “Words of Wisdom” have the power to lift your spirit when you need it most. I thought it would be fun to create a collection of inspiring quotes on a deck of 3.5×4.5 inch watercolor cards with art. So this is the first one in the deck by Tom Ziglar:

“Never put the key to your Happiness in somebody else’s pocket.”

These words are simple yet so true. Sometimes I think it’s just easier to put your happiness in some else’s pocket. But the truth is happiness comes from within and we all have the ability to create our own happiness. Some days can be a struggle but but it’s well worth the effort.

On days when I’m feeling off, I’ll meditate, go for a walk or create some art to get that happiness powerplant inside of me a kick start. When your day goes sideways, what do you do to create happiness?

Hope this inspires you in some way today. Thanks for stopping by!!

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Studio Update

I wanted to give you a little update on what I’m working on in the studio. I thought I should get a head start on making mini Christmas ornaments. I have some fun ideas and can’t wait to get these all going. I have the abstract, shown above that I’m working on. It’s a soft and dreamy painting with the feeling of flowers. Plus I have another larger abstract, shown below also in the works. Let’s see where these paintings go😊

What is really exciting me at this moment is I’m finally seeing a shift in the daily shadows in my yard which means cooler weather is coming, yay!! This was a scorching hot summer and I’m ready for fall with the official first day on September 23rd. How’s your weather been lately?

Hope you enjoyed your holiday weekend, thanks for stopping by!!

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“Make visible what, without you, might perhaps never have been seen.” ~Robert Bresson

Inchie Challenge Handmade Journal

I had an absolute blast creating the inchies for Amy Maricle’s Inchie Challenge at Mindful Art Studio. I made this 4 inch square journal for the inchies. I painted each page with coordinating watercolor paint and decorated the outside covers with pens and doodles.

This is a short video of my journal hope it inspires you to create something fun this Labor Day Weekend!

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Labor Day Sale

You work hard! Treat yourself with our Labor Day deals!!

LABOR DAY SALE

Original Paintings and Holiday Ornaments on Sale Now through September 4th

Important: Each work of art is an Original, completely Unique! Once it’s gone, it’s gone forever. So don’t delay!!!

✨Visit my Etsy Shop now and take advantage of these Amazing SAVINGS

Thanks for your support!!

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More available in my Etsy Shop:

Thoughtful Thursday Perspective

Photo by Jeremy Perkins on Pexels.com

Have you ever been in a situation where the other person upsets you with harsh words or failed to see your point of view? I think most of us have experienced something similar in one way or another.

Don Miguel Ruiz has written several books and in “The Fifth Agreement,” he makes an excellent analogy using movie theaters. The gist of it was that you go into a movie theater that’s showing a movie about your life. You recognize everyone in the scene and remember it playing out exactly that way because this was from your point of view.

After a few minutes you go to the next theater and the same movie is playing. However, this movie is different than the last because this is your mother’s point of view. You see yourself differently because this is how she perceives you to be. You also notice your mother’s character is quite different from your movie because this is based on her story and how she feels about herself and perceives everyone and everything around her.

You go from theater to theater and the story keeps changing as the main characters and points of view change. What you need to remember is that each person you engage with in your life will have their full attention on themselves and what they create and believe to be true in their minds. Once you understand everyone has a completely different point of view it will change how you view the world around you. And when someone uses harsh words or does something that upsets you, understand that what they’re projecting onto you isn’t about you, it’s about themselves and what they perceive to be real. Dealing with conflicts from this point of view will be much easier but it will take lots of practice.

Lots of food for thought in this post but I hope you enjoyed it. Thanks for stopping by!!

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Photo by Simon Berger on Pexels.com

Crescendo Abstract Painting

I wanted to share with you my latest 16×20″ abstract painting titled “Crescendo.” I like to think of this as a reminder to go for your dreams and reach for the stars. Never give up and keep climbing to the top. Set your goals high and climb, climb, climb till you reach them!!

Hope this makes you happy and inspires you to create today. Thanks for stopping by!!!

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“The best view come after the hardest climb.” Unknown

Thoughtful Thursday What’s in your bottled water?

Photo by Steve Johnson on Pexels.com

Would you intentionally ingest plastic? But if you drink bottled water which is sold in all types of plastic containers, that’s exactly what you’re doing.

Water is the source of all life on this planet and we each need our daily supply if we want to be healthy. But consuming plastic can’t be good for our bodies. I would prefer water bottled in a glass container which is how it was originally done but that’s not practical in today’s world.

Bottled water had been sold as early as 1622 in the United Kingdom’s Holy Well bottling plant. It was believed that natural springs had healing properties and the water was sold as a medicinal remedy. Jackson’s Spa in Boston was the first to sell bottled water in 1767.

Great technological advancements were made in the 19th century in producing glass containers that were efficient and practical. And thus Saratoga Springs in Saratoga New York started producing and selling seven million bottles of water a year in 1856.

It wasn’t until the 1930’s that plastic bottles began replacing the glass water bottles. Almost 100 years later these plastic bottles have became a refuse nightmare this planet. In the US consumers purchase about 50 billion water bottles a year which adds up to a lot of waste especially because they can last for hundreds of years before decomposing in landfills and sadly many end up in our oceans.

Now here’s where it gets pretty scary. Studies showed that 93% of samples taken from 259 popular bottled water brands, sold in several countries contained “microplastic” synthetic polymer particles, in other words tiny pieces of plastic. They also found that many of those particles were visible to the naked eye.

It was also rumored if the bottled water is heated (like leaving it in the car) or refrigerated/frozen it caused more plastic particles to seep into your water. Supposedly there were studies done claiming this rumor was false or is it true?

Bottom line is you need to take care in the amount of bottled water you consume because every time you drink it, your ingesting plastic. Personally, I try not to drink it whenever possible but sometimes you don’t have a choice. So opt for filtered fresh water or water bottled in a glass container whenever possible.

Thanks for stopping by!!

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Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com