“Painting is just another way of keeping a diary” _Pablo Picasso

In August of 2013 my life took a left turn down a new path. From Autumn of 2012, though the Holidays, and into the early summer of 2013, I invested myself completely in a “job” which I believed was given to me by The Lord. I still believe He sent me to do the job. I don’t believe I heard him when he said “Hold all things loosely. Nothing in this life lasts forever.” before I got so.o.o invested.

Not listening to The Lord has caused me grief on a number of occasions. This time I grieved for about 90 days, before it dawned on me that the seasons had changed and all I could do was adapt. Winter comes, whether you are prepared for it or not. When the light came back on, I decided the thing to do was more of the things I love most. Paint, draw, write — create!

That decision sent me to do an inventory of my studio that had been ignored for over a year. What I found among the art supplies was a collection of blank books—sketch books, journals, day planners, and so on. Beautiful blank books that I had collected for years, but was afraid to use for fear of making a mistake, spoiling a page.

With a new season before me and a blank page in front of me I decided, “I’m going to step away from fear.

Life is messy and can’t always be fit into the designated spaces. On the first page I wrote

Today it has become clear that time (in the realm of the Spirit) has no meaning whatsoever. And for that reason I will begin to fill each page [each hour, each day] with those things that are lovely and messy, over-looking the need for perfection and simply enjoying.

Today I have two books almost filled with a diary of the past three years. Paintings, drawings, quotes, clippings, things I find to be beautiful or encouraging. And earlier I wrote this post Time Has No Meaning.

Since I began painting a diary I have discovered this:

Each day is a new adventure.

If you visited me yesterday,

you found me to be different than I am today,

or will be tomorrow.

If you’re holding back from doing something you love for fear of making a mistake I hope you will consider taking the first steps down the path toward making something beautiful and encouraging for yourself.