Don't be afraid to be "wrong"

  We’re allowed to make mistakes   When we are first learning how to be human, we’re allowed to make mistakes. (No one expects a 2 year old’s finger painting to be magnificent enough to deserve an exhibition!) We know that beginners won’t be perfect from the start, so we hold low expectations for their … Continued

Quiet Your Inner Critic

    Sometimes the hardest part of the creative process is getting started. We have so many other things to do, and our fears subconsciously influence our quick decision-making. If you focus on JOY and don’t worry about results, you will always be in a good place. Immersing yourself in a study of nature’s beauty … Continued

Brighten the world with your creations

  The next time you are finishing up a drawing, put your pencils and paintbrushes down. Admire your page, and take a few deep breaths. Inhale joy, exhale frustration. Inhale peace, exhale stress. Inhale positivity, exhale negativity. Your mind may wonder if you are accurately representing your subject, or notice areas you want to improve. … Continued

Practice Becoming a Beginner (Again)

The wonder and amazement we feel as children stems from discovering the world for the first time. Children are remarkably inquisitive, asking what, why, and how everything works, in an attempt to gain knowledge and understanding of their world. This openness and wonder is often referred to as the “beginner’s mind.” The next time you … Continued

Listen... with your eyes

  As artists, we are all familiar with the feeling of overwhelm that arises upon first look at a subject beside the vastness of a blank page. How can we possibly capture the innate beauty that we see before us?     Observe and Connect Before you start drawing, take a moment to observe, absorb, … Continued

Notice subtle changes in nature as the seasons progress

Consider breaking free from the news cycle and tuning in to the subtleties of nature. Walk outside your door, and notice small changes in the environment around you. Is the grass a little greener? Duller? Did a familiar plant just start to flower? Are there new seeds or pods along the ground? When you are … Continued

Practice Patience

Breathe Think for a moment about the timeline of nature. Imagine any natural process – seed growth, blooming flowers, decomposition. Do they happen quickly?     Imagine a colorful autumn leaf floating down from its branch and settling in with its siblings on the ground. I like to imagine that this leaf is not in … Continued

Warm up and have fun!

When we are deep in concentration, working really hard on a drawing, we may reach a point where our bodies don’t want to continue. If we’ve trained our muscles (built our “loose joints”), we can let our bodies take over for the final sprint. Try doing some warm-up exercises to click back in. Botanical drawing … Continued

Let your specimen amaze you

During the creation of a botanical drawing, so much of the joy is exploring, investigating, and letting the wonder of nature wash over you. Often this type of drawing can feel overwhelming, slow, never-ending… Bring your attention away from those fears and take the time to find the wonder in your specimen. What amazes you? … Continued

Motivation: Wendy's Wisdom