Charm of the Carolines

Power to Choose

The "Get Motivated" seminar came to Nashville last week.

I've been going to these seminars since the mid-1990s when the keynote speaker was Margaret Thatcher. I was in awe to be in the same room with her. It didn't matter to me there were 17,000 other people in the same "room," too.

Over the years I've had the pleasure of seeing in person Charlton Heston, Larry King, Elizabeth Dole, Norman Schwarzkopf, Zig Ziglar, Steve McNair, Peyton Manning, and many, many others. This year's slate of speakers was very impressive, but I was most interested in seeing Bill Cosby. (Others on this year's line up were Steve Forbes, Rudy Guiliani, Christopher Gardner, Colin Powell, and others.)

One speaker that really spoke to me was one I wasn't expecting to be so poignant, Lou Holtz. No wonder he is one of the most winning football coaches in history.

His message may not have been original, but the way it was delivered inspired me. Wherever you are in life, you are there by choice. You choose where you are, what you do, where you go, who you are. The place you are right now is a culmination of all the choices you have made in your lifetime.

Lou Holtz encouraged us to make good choices, including our attitudes and positive self-image. He also challenged us to set a higher standard for ourselves.  

 

Magic Bean Buyers

 
“If you are a dreamer,come in.

If you are a dreamer, a wisher, a liar,

a hoper, a prayer, a magic-bean-buyer.

If you're a pretender, come sit by my fire,

for we have some flax-golden tales to spin.

Come in! Come in!”

 ~ kindred spirit Dawn Jones shared this quote with me today.

I love it! Originated with Shel Silverstein

 

(Painting by Renoir "The Dreamer")

Painting En Plein Air

 
 
My friend and neighbor Laine hosted a plein air workshop this past weekend at her home with a half dozen ladies enjoying the morning light, her magnificent gardens, a catered lunch, and hours of painting just like the French impressionists from 100 years ago.

 

 
Impressionistic painting is better than therapy. What better way to simply relax and enjoy the details of God's glory??

 
I've been painting since childhood, but only in the last year has it become an integral part of my life. I owe so much of this joy to Laine. It was her passion and enthusiasm that reintroduced the joy of painting back into my life.

 
Laine has painted so many wonderful plein air paintings, but the one above is my favorite.

 
Laine's garden is both her canvas and her muse.

Have you ever felt the stirring of creative juices and considered picking up the brush?

I want to share with you a few things I've learned that may inspire you to paint. And even if you never pick up a brush, many of the lessons can be a metaphor for life...

• It's not about painting the perfect painting, but enjoying the process.
• It's not about what you paint, but how you paint it.
• Paint what you love and you'll love what you paint.
• Maintain that initial impression.
• The spaces can be as interesting as the object.
• More Look than Put.
• EVERYTHING is relative.
• Keep it as soft as you can, as neutral as you can, for as long as you can.
• Big brush, big area. Small brush, small area.
• A painting is only as good as its worst point.
• The signature is part of the painting.

 
What inspires you??

Laine and I are both represented by Merging of the Arts in Franklin, TN, and Loblolly, in Columbia, TN. For a look at Laine's artwork, click here. For a look at some of my work, click here, or follow the link in the top navigation bar to Honoring the Muse.

 

Honoring those who Served...

Decoration Day

is the most beautiful of our national holidays....

The grim cannon have turned into palm branches,

and the shell and shrapnel into peach blossoms.

~Thomas Bailey Aldrich

In Memory of Those who Served

 

The patriot's blood is the seed of Freedom's tree. 

~Thomas Campbell