This month has been what the young people call “cray”. Here’s a screenshot of my calendar for this past month:

This shows some of the “extra” things going on/appointments, but doesn’t include the myriad of daily, weekly, and monthly rhythms required for work and family… yeah, it’s been a busy month.

Maybe yours is more full than this. Most anyone I talk to these days, when you ask them how they’re doing, responds with “Busy”. And I resonate with this. For most of us, it’s not an option to NOT be busy… but it’s also true that our minds and bodies were not designed to be running on “high alert” all the time. So what to do?

I believe that FEELING busy is a choice to some degree. I’m working on being more intentional with the things I add to my calendar, deliberately planning in margin/rest time, and just being more aware and proactive toward the stress that comes from being busy. So this month has been filled with a lot of activity, but also a lot of time to rest, reflect, and immerse myself in painting.

Why I Paint

When I get to feeling busy and overwhelmed, painting has a way of blocking out everything else and bringing me back to peaceful focus. Nature art especially is a way of focusing my mind on the beauty of the created world, and giving myself a chance to reconnect with the “slower” things in life: appreciation, light, color, intuition, feeling. When I hear the swish of my brush on the canvas, it quiets and centers my mind on the beauty at hand. And that is a gift.

Picasso remarked once, “Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.” I couldn’t agree more. After I paint, I feel like my mind has had a good bath. Times of slow, of focus, of appreciating nature—these give my life more richness, depth, and balance. They remind me that life is not only about errands, schedule chaos, and all the adulting that life requires of us.

About the Spring Collection

This new spring collection of paintings embraces that slower, more mindful pace. I hope it invites you into enjoyment, beauty, and feeling restored. I hope it’s a welcome pause from the #crazybusy pace to enter into a sense of momentary awe for this beautiful world we live in.

In the collection I’ll be including a few pieces from last year, but most of them will be brand new. There will be plenty of landscapes, sunsets, road scenes, a couple winter scenes, and a couple florals too—so lots of beauty coming your way very soon. All the works embody my signature style of rich texture, soft natural colors, and sweeping brushstrokes. All the works celebrate a sense of magical light and soothing beauty we find in the wild outdoors. 💚 The collection is still in progress, but it’s looking like around 12-16 paintings at this point.

Each one so far has been a labor of love and exploration. They clearly look like they’re part of the same “family”, but it’s been delightful to watch each of their own little personalities emerge during the process of creation.

Excited to release this gorgeous spring collection of original paintings on Saturday morning March 16 to my email subscribers (mark your calendars now!) If you’re not already on my email list and would like first access to this collection, we’d love to have you join us here.

Hope you enjoyed this sneak peek—feel free to share it with anyone you think might enjoy it.

Thanks for being here, and here’s to inviting more beauty into our everyday.

Kindly,

Angela