Author Sharon Leah

Why Paint in a Tradition

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Sharon Leah

Bonnard-the dining room

Pierre Bonnard, The Dining Room in the Country, 1913

I’m a plein air landscape artist and I do some still life paintings when the weather is bad or it’s just too cold to stand outside for three hours. I live in Minnesota. Today, I can say that I paint in the tradition of painterly realism, but it took some time for me to identify the tradition—painterly realism—that I feel most aligned with. In college, I was infatuated with the French Impressionists, and with Pierre Bonnard in particular. Then as now, color and light are nearly the first things that draw my attention to a scene. The Impressionists used broken color to capture the sensation of light. Bonnard was actually considered a Post-Impressionist painter and criticized by some because he broke with his contemporaries, developing his own style. Reviewing an exhibit of Bonnard’s work, Jed Perl wrote:

“Bonnard is the most…

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Thinking about Creating a Business of One?

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EPSON MFP image

Have you ever felt the entrepreneurial bug bite and thought about being a “business of one” so you can sell what you create—books, paintings, ceramics, graphic design, web design, sculptures, dolls, toys, costumes, cakes, jewelry, gift cards, photographs, workshops or training—to name but a few possibilities? There are big opportunities for people who decide to take the leap. In 2014 there were 28 million small businesses in the United States. Fifty-two percent of those businesses were home-based.

The U.S. government definition for a small business is:

  • Organized for profit
  • Operating in the U.S., or making a significant contribution to the U.S. economy through taxes and the sale of products
  • Independently owned and operated
  • Not dominant in its field on a national scale

To flourish as a “business of one” requires the same mindset as that of someone who wants to operate a successful franchise, a coffee shop, or any other endeavor. How you perceive your self and your life will define your success.

Think About It

Step 1: Visualize your business. What can you confidently accomplish as a business of one? Have a focus. All entrepreneurs need to stand out in the crowd.

Step 2: Keep a positive attitude. Understand that not every idea is a good idea. Expect to win some and lose some, learn from failures and then move on to the next thing you need to do. Hundreds of decisions will need to be made every day and the choices that are made will determine what is accomplished and experienced. The key to success is to avoid negative thinking. It follows that to avoid negative thoughts, you need to make sure you’re asking the right questions.

Here are some tips from the book The Entrepreneur in You by author A.A. Edmond Jr. for people who want to be, or who have already claimed the role:

  • Always plan your options. It’s more empowering to have options than it is to have obligations
  • Develop a daily routine and stick to it
  • Replenish your energy by taking a walk, a nap, or just resting for 15 minutes

An “A” Power Play

Meditate (everyday in the morning if possible) for as little as 15 minutes. Sit in a chair or on a pillow on the floor, but be comfortable. Set a timer. Listen to something that will distract you from thinking—a ticking clock or a fan work great! Sometimes, when that isn’t enough and my mind wants to chase after thoughts, I start counting down from 17 to 0. I continue this until the thoughts subside, which usually takes only a short time. Why 17? Because that’s how long it takes for one thought to lead to another thought. Make this part of your daily routine and just keep doing it. You’ll notice, after while, that you’re getting “good, useful thoughts” that will help you reach your goals.

Step 3: Pace yourself.  Don’t worry about procrastination. We tend to criticize ourselves and feel negative emotions when procrastinating, and then we try to drive ourselves toward the finish line. That’s actually counterproductive. What procrastination tells us is that we’re not yet ready to do something.

An “A” Power Play

Be ready to be ready. If you don’t have the things or information around you that you need to do something, you don’t have the momentum to easily follow through and the whole effort will be fraught with problems. You’re own thoughts will pile up as  additional resistance. Instead of pushing, just state or write down your goal and then stop worrying. Let your mind relax. Go to a movie. Take a walk. Meditate. Meditation helps to calm the mind so you can get ready to be ready. It’s important to stay away from negative thinking. PAY ATTENTION to what you receive via ideas, observations, overheard conversations. FOLLOW UP on any thoughts that cause a good-feeling emotion, because those good feelings will guide you to the things you need in order to do what you want to do.  Be a lifelong learner and constantly seek to sharpen your skills. Be ready to be ready.

Once you have your vision defined, your goals are set, and you feel ready to be ready, you will feel confident about taking the next steps.

Emotions Reveal Your Focus

Sharon Leah 1 Comment

full moon

The moon is full today in the sign of Capricorn and reflecting the light from the sun that has been traveling through the sign of Cancer since the Summer Solstice on June 21. There are lots of stories and legends about the effects of the moon cycle, especially the full moon, on humans. Most of these stories feature words like “moody,” “loony,” or “lunatic.” All of these words imply some kind of unconscious reaction—feeling emotion—to living life. They describe moods.

Moods are always triggered by some event—a chance meeting, a conversation, a song, a memory, etc., which could be anywhere on the emotional spectrum from joyful and happy to sad and lonely.  When a thought triggers an emotion, other thoughts will quickly join with the first thought and in no time at all, a mood develops. Often, the mood is familiar because we’ve “been there, done that” lots of times before. And the mood plays on and on because we get stuck in its familiar vibrational groove. It’s a set point.

Moods are indicators of emotional set points. They’re always the result of one thought leading to another to another until the brain is hijacked. Now, this isn’t a problem if the familiar mood is joy or happiness. But if you’re feelings fall on the other end of the spectrum, and you feel angry, sad, depressed, lonely, or afraid, do everything you can to get out of that vibrational mood.

Power Play

Change your focus ASAP!! Silently count down from 17 to 0 five or ten times, or until the disruptive thoughts fade. Why 17? That’s how long it takes for one thought to attract another thought. So interrupt the thoughts before they can accumulate and trigger a mood. Once the disruptive thoughts start to fade, and they will, DON’T try to recall them. Move on and have a better day.

Thoughts are Energy that Create Worlds

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yin yang

Magnetism is the force of attraction or repulsion. Magnetism is caused by spinning electrically-charged particles moving around, and the magnetic field of an object can create a magnetic force that attracts other objects. When two magnetic objects are close together, there is a force that attracts the poles to each other.

Our human bodies generate internal magnetic activity (every cell contains energy) that keeps us alive. This internal magnetic energy interacts with all the other magnetic fields on the planet we live on. Our brains are a dense mass of energy producing cells that create measurable brain waves. And it’s in the brain that thoughts are produced, transmitted, and received. The laws of nature apply to humans in the same way they apply to a magnet or any other magnetic force on earth.

The difference between us and a magnet is that we have conscious choice. We can choose whether or not to be drawn into a force field. We can choose to join an activity, stop at a sale, go to a movie, say yes or no to an invitation. We can decide how to respond to the randomness that surrounds us. We can decide, if we’re conscious, about what kind of thoughts we let in. This is important to understand and to remember, because EVERYTHING is energy, including thoughts.

Reflect for 60 seconds on anything and pay attention to how one thought leads to another and to another. Those thoughts collect and can create enough momentum to, in turn, cause you to take an action or feel a feeling that’s often a reaction.

The Law of Attraction says that we invite our experiences through our own thought processes. Nothing can occur in your life experience without your invitation of it through your thoughts. For a lot of reasons, few people want to accept that we shape our experience of life through our thoughts. Not wanting to accept the physics of our experience here on earth doesn’t change the physics, though. We are made up of energy. Our thoughts are created from energy. They’re transmitted and received because they’re energy. The key to having better thoughts and better life experiences is to remember that we have conscious choice.

Power Play

Understand the Law of Attraction and remember that you can choose which force fields you are drawn in to. The news is a force field. If watching or listening to the news upsets you and causes you to feel negative emotions, you can choose to either not pay attention to news or you can be selective about what you pay attention to. People around you are force fields. You can choose to stop receiving thoughts that upset you or you can interrupt the thoughts that you’re attracting by changing your focus. You get to decide what affects you, what you accept or reject, and what your actions or reactions will be.

Day One: A Crash Course in Navigating South America

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I love this new blog by my daughter, who traveled solo throughout South America. It’s creative, adventuresome, and full of great tips for travelers.

I SPY BLUE SKIES

When the airplane touched down on the runway at Rio Galeão airport in Rio de Janeiro, I stared out the window in a state of disbelief. After planning this trip for nearly a year, I had finally arrived, and I didn’t want to get off the airplane. I was alone and terrified.

What did I get myself into?

IMG_0658

Of course, staying on the airplane wasn’t an option. I had no choice but to stand up, swallow my fear, which I would do many more times throughout the next four months, and make the long walk toward baggage claim.

“First time in Brazil?” the immigration agent asked before stamping my passport. I nodded. “Welcome, enjoy,” he said with an amused smile. I took my passport back and kept walking. It must be fun, I thought, watching all the bewildered and sleep-deprived gringos like myself filing through his line.

I collected my…

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Everyone is Creative

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Study for a Portrait of Van Gogh IV 1957 by Francis Bacon 1909-1992

Study for portrait of Vincent Van Gogh by Francis Bacon, 1957.

For several years, John has curated the work of landscape artists for a cyber art show that he shares with his audience of landscape painters on Facebook. Every week, he asks his followers a question. A recent question was: “If you had to pick just one thing that being an artist has taught you, what would it be?” The question elicited over a hundred responses, such as:

  • Don’t self promote. It’s embarrassing and self-defeating.
  • Perseverance, persistence, and patience.
  • Not to be an artist. I quit six years ago.
  • Never stop learning and pushing your boundaries.
  • There will always be someone who is better than you. Don’t compete.
  • How hard it is to be an accomplished artist. I sometimes think I’ll never get there.
  • Marry well.
  • Admire, appreciate, and understand other’s work.
  • Don’t compare yourself to others. Comparison is the thief of joy.

Midweek, John posted a comment in which he said that he had observed only about 2 percent of the population are truly artists and another 10 percent consider themselves creative. Everyone else just likes to paint.

I was quite surprised that John thinks so few of his artist followers think of themselves as creative and even fewer see themselves as artists, but I don’t disagree with him even though I have come to other conclusions. That’s what he’s observed and what he believes. John explained his reasoning this way: “TRUE artists suffer. They struggle to fit in. To get enough money to eat and live. To find time enough to create what is burning them up inside and to get recognition in an indifferent society and world.”

That was Van Gogh’s life story. It’s a story and a mindset that many painters, writers, poets, sculptors—artists—have adopted, though. It’s a belief that is worn by many, perhaps the majority, like sackcloth and perpetuated by its repetition. It’s a belief that is passed from generation to generation. But here’s the thing—beliefs are nothing more than thoughts that people continue to think, and as long as people continue to tell each other their stories of lack, they will continue to manifest and share those experiences.

Power Play

Tell a different story. Chronic attention to unwanted things holds you in a place (through the thoughts that you think) of disallowing what you really want.

My conclusions

Everyone is creative. If you doubt that is true, take 15 minutes and recall/make a list of things you’ve created (brought into your life) because you imagined/thought of something that you wanted for yourself.  The Law of Attraction says that “that which is like onto itself, is drawn.”