Mindfulness Paintings Blog!

The Mindfulness Paintings Blog will explore creative meditation exercises, mindfulness artwork and mindfulness art activities. Please share your thoughts, ideas and experiences as we journey towards being more mindful as we create. This is a safe place for the inner artist to share, notice and grow in mindfulness.

Let not future things disturb you, for you will come to them, if it shall be necessary, having with you the same reason which you now use for present things. – Marcus Aurelias

LATEST BLOG ENTRIES

Painting of Flowers and Other Memories

Mindful of a New Moment to Be Lived

Today, I am mindful of the present moment. While different and bittersweet, it brings good things for me to celebrate. I paint what was, what is, and what will be. I try to be aware of it all. Join me in noticing what yesterday, today, and tomorrow brings. Capture it in the way that helps you in this new moment to be lived. This blog will give you an opportunity to consider your “new moment” and the ways you might lay hold of it.

The simple act of playing with color on a canvas reimagines your internal world.

I See In Color, 2021

I write about my painting process because I know that there are others like me: people who “see the world in color” and create in response. This blog is all about the power of noticing color and responding. It’s a reminder to take a deep breath, close our eyes, and re-center ourselves whenever color speaks.

Stove, Spigot, and a Flower Pot, 2021

What is your creative process? How does your present moment speak through your choice of artistic expression? How do you say, “This is my “Right Now”?” From your present moment, how do you capture the past, what still brings you joy, and what holds great meaning for you? This blog will explore ways you can share how you capture it all. It’s an invitation to share your creative process.

Upside Downs, Right Side Ups, and Creative Process

It’s important that we adjust our perspective right now. If we want to make the most of our present moment, we need to change our attitude and approach things a little bit differently. People are unhappy with the way things are. Everyone agrees that things aren’t normal. Even the luckiest have their world turned upside down by COVID. How do we face each day with a sense of hope and peace? This blog explores creativity’s power to turn our “Upside Downs” to “Right Side Ups.”

Go to a Better Place

In 2020, we were all anxious for the day when we would find ourselves in a better place. In 2021, we have the same anxieties. Yes, it’s true. There is a vaccine on its way. Hope is on the horizon. Yet, we still need to get through the coming months. It’s cold, the days are darker, and many of our favorite places are shut down. We can’t go anywhere with our loved ones: not even into their homes. How can we go to a better place in 2021? This blog aims to help you find that “better place” without even needing to step foot outside the door.

Tired of Waiting for What’s Next?

We’re all tired of COVID and tired of waiting for our lives to get back to normal. We don’t know what’s next, and it can be excruciating. It’s disquieting not knowing what tomorrow will bring. Creative process can provide a healthy redirection for the feelings and challenges that come with the realities of our “Right Now.” Tomorrow will remain uncertain. Do your best to accept “Right Now” as it is. That doesn’t mean that you pretend that you don’t have angst about the future. Be mindful of how you feel. Notice your unease and don’t try to push it down. However, consider how creative process can help you in this time and place. This blog will help you get started.

A Million Choices

Do you have a place where everything is yours? How can you create a space where you can make choices that are all for you? The creative process can offer you this kind of freedom and opportunity. This blog explores how we can become more mindful and aware of the joy and peace the creative process yields, and why we can thank the millions of choices that are all yours and all mine.

Right Side Up, or Upside Down?

Together, we can start a new art movement that that is driven by honesty, not validation. Imagine a community or art makers embracing the present moment, mindful of their own creative practice, and driven by the desire to be true to their work. To be perfectly honest, I ache for that. Do you? If you do, read this blog and respond in some way: through your work, through your actions, through your thought process, or through celebrating the sincere and forthright creations of others. If we do it, I think the world will be a little more honest.

Finding Your Way Back to You

I’m feeling lost. I’ve got to make some good choices to settle myself down. I’m working on my mind right now: the tape that’s playing in my head. I’m telling it to slow down, and I’m telling it I’m going to be OK. There’s a lot going on, so my head is swimming with voices. Not audible ones. Just those quiet whispers that we tend to give too little attention. They are insidious. I must find a way to silence them.