SoulPainters.com

We are all given the gift of an internal compass that points towards our North Star and a unique calling that has been given to each of us to fulfill. Many times, however, this internal prompting is nothing more than a still small voice that is for our ears alone to hear and no one else’s. It is this whisper that tells us to go this way or go that way. Unfortunately there are other voices speaking to us at the same time, voices that seem to know better than we do. I have learned that even voices of authority speak the language of both opinion and truth. Many times we tend to assume that opinion is the same as truth, it’s not.

It is not uncommon for an individual to lean a ladder of success against a house and struggle to climb to the top. What usually happens is that we climb the ladder only to realize the ladder is leaning against the wrong house.

It may be late in the game for you, but remember, it’s never TO late. What is the whisper of your soul saying to you? Remember, it is a voice that is only tuned to your ear and only you can hear it. It’s never to late to pick up pencil, charcoal, or paint and begin. The hardest part is to just start.

I want to challenge you, are you making a living or making a life? Perhaps it’s time to reevaluate the “Urgent” things in your life (*see Tyranny of the Urgent) that rob you of what is really Important, following your True North Star.

What do the North Star, a compass and your intuition all have in common? They all point you in a specific direction for your life. In my bio, which is found at the top of this page, I tell the story of growing up in a creative home and having vivid memories about being so anxious to create something I would drive my mom crazy. Neither my parents nor I had any idea what this meant at the time.

Years later I had the honor and privilege of serving in the United States Navy Seabees shortly after graduating from high school. I thought that was the direction I was supposed to go at the time but while serving I distinctly remember feeling an overwhelming sense of stagnation and frustration with my life path. I had no idea why; all I knew was that I wasn’t doing what I was born to do.

After my discharge I found myself standing at a crossroads with my life and not sure which direction to take.  I worked as a contractor for a while thinking that this was the way I was supposed to go only to run into the same feeling of stagnation I had experienced in the Seabees. I decided to go back to school and considered either teaching, or the ministry as my life path and I opted for the ministry. Although I had some degree of success I eventually left after 15 years of service.

It wasn’t until I had reached my midlife years that I began to honestly look inward and ask a simple yet profound question, “If I could do anything I wanted to without fail and fully financed, what would I want to do?” In that quiet moment of sincere honesty I felt a surge burst up from within me as I said, “I want to draw and paint more than anything.” I had found my North Star once again; I had taken the time to look at my internal compass and had reconnected with my calling, my gift, and my dream.

There have been a number of very profound questions that I have asked myself through out my life’s journey, questions such as, “Who am I?” “Why am I here?” and “Where am I going?” But there is one question that has shaken me to the core and radically changed my life, that question I now ask you, “If you (I) could do anything you (I) wanted to do without fail and fully financed, what would you (I) do?”

I want to challenge you to find a quiet place, take a piece of paper, pen, pencil, laptop, or iPad, sit and listen to the still small voice inside you and write. Be brutally honest with yourself, perhaps for the first time in your life, but be brutally honest with yourself and answer that one question. It may very well point you back to your true North Star.

I love finding creative toys to play with.  Have fun!

artpad.art.com/artpad/painter

What do you value? If you are reading this then I am going to assume that creating is one of those values. How do we as creative people regain our time to create? Start with where you’re at and the time you have. I know, I can hear it, “Time, what time? I don’t have time.” Yes you do, you’re just not aware of it because your focus has shifted. Remember, this is about reclaiming what YOU truly value. Yesterday I mentioned that we always seem to have time for others but never enough time for ourselves. We always seem to end up with the “Time Table-Scraps” or the “Time-Leftovers.”

With this said, the first task is to refocus a little time on ourselves. In order to start reclaiming time for ourselves we need to start with the time we have. Typically when the word “Time” is used, our immediate interpretation is the impression of large blocks of time consisting of hours, an afternoon, an entire day, or weekend. I’m almost certain those blocks of time are already filled so lets start with a block of time that isn’t designated. Begin with the time you have when you have your first cup of coffee, tea or juice in the morning. My first cup of coffee takes me about 3 to 5 minutes to drink. In that time we will sit, read the newspaper, look at a magazine or surf the Internet. You can start reclaiming your time first thing in the morning while you sip on your morning coffee by taking that same 3 to 5 minutes and sketch something? Not sure what to draw? Your coffee cup is the perfect model. Don’t have any drawing paper? Try using a paper towel. If you have a newspaper try drawing something related to an article you read right over the article or what about simply drawing the cartoons. I can guarantee that if you give yourself this small block of time it will be planted like a seed and grow.

We always make “Time” for what’s important in our lives, but what if the important things in life become overshadowed by the “Urgent” things? Giving in to the urgent things versus the important things might sound something like this; We’ve been talking to our art friends for a couple weeks and they have encouraged us to pick up some paints and start creating something. We find our paints hidden away in the back of the closet dust them off and reminisce about when we were in high school and loved to paint. We can feel that sense of excitement starting to build. We wait all week to paint something as Saturday morning finally arrives. We wake up with a fresh sense of creative enthusiasm, walk out into the kitchen and make our first cup of coffee. As we turn towards the kitchen table with expectation the kids run in with sheer panic in their voice as they need to be driven to the game because their ride was canceled, your spouse whisks in with frustration because they can’t find the car keys, your friend calls to ask if you could bake some cookies for the homeroom class and the dog got out of the backyard. At the end of the day you look over in the corner near the kitchen table and see your paint box sitting quietly in the corner as you whisper, “Maybe next weekend I’ll have time.” You have just been victimized by the Tyranny of the Urgent.

There is a difference between what is Urgent and what is Important. The important elements that make up our lives are directly linked to our “values.” Values tend to be those things we feel very strongly about, those things in our lives that reign supreme. Values are different for everyone. Some of my values include my children, family, my artwork, and my faith. Many times the immediate “urgent” things get in the way of what is really important. The result is waking up one day and feeling like we are always doing things for other people but never doing anything for ourselves.

I’d like to challenge you to make a list. Take out a piece of paper, lined or blank, and fold it in half lengthwise. At the top of the left hand column write “Important: My values that Reign Supreme.” At the top of the right hand column I’d like you to write “Urgent: Unexpected time stealers.” Starting with the “Important” column list, from the top down, as many Values as you can think of. Now directly across from each Value write an example of a time stealer: What situation(s) has robbed you of the time for that Value? As I mentioned, many times we are not aware of how we are managing our time until someone points it out to us and we become aware. You are on your way to reclaiming your sacred creative space!

Time. “When I have time I’m going to…” “I never seem to have enough time” “Someday I’ll have enough time to…” “There’s never enough time.” Time, that bittersweet place the creative soul longs for and never seems to have enough of.  There always seems to be time for other things and other people, so how do we as creative people “Find the Time” for ourselves?

The truth is that time isn’t something we find it’s something we manage. Time, in and of it self is constant, it never changes. We are given 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. So what are we really saying when we use phrases like, “There’s never enough time?” It all comes back to 2 things: 1) What we value, and 2) how we manage the time we have.

What do you value and how do you manage your time? Here’s a great little tool to give you a visual picture of what you value and the amount of time you spend on each, it’s called a Life Pie and there are many different ways to create one. Life Pies are great little tools to help you find balance in what you value and the amount of time you want to devote to each area of your life.

To begin, draw a circle approximately 8 – 10 inches in diameter, or the diameter of your hand when it’s laying flat and stretched completely open. Divide your circle into six pieces of pie and label them at the top as follows:

1)   Spirituality

2)   Play

3)   Work

4)   Friends

5)   Exercise

6)   Romance (if you are in a relationship)/Adventure (if you are single)

On a scale of 0-10, zero being the center, place a dot in each slice at the degree to which you feel fulfilled.  Beginning from the center, shade in each slice from the 0 to the dot you placed in that area. So a 7 in the Play slice would be approximately 2/3rds of the way up from the center. Once you are done you will have a visual image of how you use your time. Be honest and have fun, you are on your way to regaining what you value and having enough time to do it.

Creativity is more than pencil, charcoal and paint. We create everyday but just aren’t aware of it. I hope this inspires you to see the evening sky a little differently.

Every child is an artist.

The problem is remaining an artist once he grows up.

Pablo Picasso

Whenever I meet someone the question always comes up, “So, what do you do for a living?” Followed by my response, “I’m an art teacher and professional artist” (you can almost hear it coming can’t you?) Which they reply, “I can’t even draw a stick figure.” Well guess what I found? I thought Friday might be the perfect day to end the week with something fun, silly and … childlike. Just click on the link below and Have fun!

**Make sure to hold down your left click button to draw. This is soooo COOL!!

www.drawastickman.com

My students have taught me many things over the years; one of those life lessons has been removing the “T” from “Can’t.” It never fails, on the first day of every school year a student will walk in to my classroom and say to me, “I can’t draw.” My initial response is always the same, “We’ll see. You’d be surprised.” As I have taught adults in addition to high school I have found that this exchange is neither gender nor age specific. It doesn’t matter what age we are or what gender, we all experience the fear of the unknown and a lack of confidence in our ability to excel.

Imagine the shock and fear on my student’s faces when I tell them on the first day of school that they must draw one of the school buildings without any instruction (insert sinister laugh here). I do this with intention so my students, including adults, all have a documentation of where they started. Three quarters of the way through my program I ask my students to draw the exact same building. By this time many months have passed and they have forgotten the horror of their first day’s drawing experience.

Once they complete the task I ask them to open their sketchbooks to the first drawing of the same building and compare the two. The responses are very vocal with gasps of shock, amazement, and pride as they are truly “Surprised” by what they have accomplished. Many times when we consider beginning a new task, project, painting, drawing, etc. our immediate thought is “I Can’t.”

So what’s the secret to removing the “T” from “Can’t”? There are two things that set the stage for success, the first is to just start and the second is finding someone who supports you. First, just start with where you are at. It sounds simple but many times we freeze because of false assumptions and self imposed expectations. Give yourself the freedom of lowering the bar and creating achievable goals. And second, look for someone who believes in you and will encourage you.  It’s amazing what will grow in the soil of encouragement and support, just ask my students.

I love this scene from the movie “Hook.” Robin Williams plays Peter Pan who has grown up and has forgotten who he really is. In my experience as an art teacher, and as an artist, I have met so many people who have become like Peter Pan, they grew up and forgot who they were. Our dreams, our deep desires, and our passions are still there. Who we “REALLY” are, the true self, the creative self is still there, it’s never left. All we need are a few friends to believe in us, whether they be husband, wife, friend, child, or maybe even a fairy or a few lost boys.

The Chinese philosopher Lao-tzu once wrote, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” I’ve taken many steps throughout my life, some in a positive direction, and some in a negative direction. One direction I haven’t stepped is closer to my artwork and deep desire to create. With that said, today I choose to take my first step towards the dream that has been a part of me all my life: to paint, to draw, to create and visually touch the soul of what it means to be human. Today I make the choice to do what I was born to do, be an artist.

You see, I’m a Peter Pan too. I once forgot who I was but now I remember. My dream to create, to paint, to draw and touch the heartbeat of the human soul has never left. I don’t know what’s ahead of me, but I have begun my Journey and I’m never looking back.

Have you forgotten who you are? Have you forgotten the dreams you had when you were younger? The issues of life may get in the way and blur our vision but our dreams never disappear forever. I want to challenge you to take a few minutes to sit in a quiet place, allow your mind to wonder back a few years to your youth, to that time  in your life of possibilities. Write it down so you can see your dream in front of you. It’s always been there, waiting quietly, for your attention.