Making art changes your brain. Changing your brain changes your life.

Painting, like meditation, can relax your mind. When your mind rests, new ideas and insights arise, and you become more aware of your inner and outer world.

With this awareness, you can cut through the bombardment of imagery we face daily, and truly SEE the world more clearly.

I often tell my students that “we look at the world all of the time, but we don’t really SEE it until we take the time to paint it.”

Everyone is born a creator. 

Do you remember spending hours as a child learning and growing through observation, experimentation, and play?

The older you get, have you spent less time playing, watching, or experimenting? 

Maybe you have begun to think you know all you need to know to “get the job done”, or that you have figured out what life “is all about”.

This is known as having a fixed mindset. These thoughts might not be true. 

Recently I read an article that scientists discovered that it is a fact — that making art actually changes our brain for the better. 

In a 10-week study of 28 men and women ages 62–70 it was found that the brains of those who took a hands-on art class showed “significant improvement in psychological resilience” (stress resistance). 

Those who participated in art appreciation, with no hands-on creative aspect, showed no improvement.

The hands-on art class group showed evidence of improved “effective interaction” between regions of the brain used to process introspection, self-monitoring, memory, and emotional recognition of others. 

According to research, interaction in that area of the brain declines with age. Creating visual art has the potential to reverse this deterioration. (Details can be found at www.plosone.org).

Scientists made these discoveries, but I like to check to see if they are true for you and me. So I’ve created my Hide-N-Seek Watercolor class to test these ideas out.

Would you like to try using art to change your brain? 

Would you like something to touch your soul and give you something new to look forward to each day?

Maybe you would like a new spark of energy in your life.

What if you could have fun painting with watercolor while exploring yourself and your world through color, shape, and texture?

Please join me, and others who want to do the same, in one of my playful, Lotus Aqua Art Escapes being held on Oahu this year. 

Transform your life and energy in “paradise”, safely surrounded by people of like mind and energy. 

You can take the two-day class on one of the following dates this year: 
April 18 & 19, 2015
May 23 & 24, 2015
Oct 17 & 18, 2015
Nov 14 & 15, 2015

Together we will paint the flowers and sea life of Hawaii from 10am-4pm each day, with a break for lunch. We will also take a short walk to the Waikiki Aquarium to get to know the flowers along the way and the sea life in our waters.
 
If you want to take the workshop, please email me at: Patrice@artofaloha.com

On January 29th I took my car in for a quick service appointment.

While waiting, I read an article about the American Small Business Championship Contest hosted by the Service Core of Retired Executives (SCORE), with financial support from Sam's Club. Winners would receive a $1,000 gift card to Sam’s Club and a year of free mentoring from SCORE.

To enter, I was to answer the question: “What sacrifice have I made to help my business succeed?”

This is what I wrote:

What an odd question! A better question would be, “what have I gained as a result of helping my business succeed?” I have gained an appreciation of the amount of tenacity, focus, and perseverance needed to run a successful business. I have lost a few friends as the result of cutting back on my free time, but what I lost in numbers, I have gained in quality — both quality of time and friends. Both are invaluable. I sacrificed home ownership and a steady paycheck when I began my business. I have gained flexibility, increased appreciation of my customer base, and increased awareness of the importance of budgeting both time and money. I have gained so many loyal customers from around the world because of my new location so far from my home state of Wisconsin. I sacrificed my life of mediocrity for the opportunity to grow my art, and myself into a world-class quality art business, reaching a worldwide art market. In doing so, I am uplifting those I reach through my art, my words, and by teaching my art process to those who want to add more positive creativity and joy to their lives.

The words flowed easily and quickly and I felt GREAT!

When my car was ready, I took the Likelike Hwy to Sunshine Arts Gallery. About halfway over the mountains, I saw a two-foot tall animal on the shoulder of the road with its back to me. It was light brown, had two small pointy ears, and was standing up straight (erect). I didn’t know what it was.

Imagine my surprise when, as I passed it (at 50 mph), I looked into the rear view mirror to see a small “kangaroo”!

What? Kangaroos do NOT live here! Not even at the zoo! I was excited and a little freaked out. What was it doing here? Was it okay? How did it get here?

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When I arrived at the gallery, I called the Humane Society to tell them what I had seen, “You might think I’m crazy, but I just saw a little kangaroo on the side of the Likelike Hwy.”

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The woman on the phone graciously replied: “You’re not crazy. You saw a wallaby. About 100 years ago, before it was illegal to import them, a private zoo in the Kalihi Valley had wallabies in it. They either escaped or were let loose. Because the wallabies have adapted to our climate, there are so few of them, and they are very shy and rarely even seen, we have allowed them to continue to live on the island.”

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I felt as though I had “won the lottery”! If you had told me Unicorns live here, I wouldn’t have been more surprised.

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I also felt as though the wallaby was a “sign.” Perhaps it meant that I was “on the right track,” that I was “living right,” that it was my “lucky day,” or maybe that it was a really good idea for me to enter the American Small Business Championship contest!

My wallaby sighting and the ASBC contest might not be related to one another, but they will forever be linked in my mind. Because you see, I did win the contest.

I was named one of 102 American Small Business Champions!

Two small businesses from each state and the District of Columbia were chosen to receive the gift card and mentorship. I intend to make the most of this opportunity.

I will be watching for wallabies whenever I’m on the Likelike Hwy! The real wallabies are not as colorful as my “Lucky Rainbow Wallaby”, but they truly are even more adorable.

If you have trouble finding time to paint, you are in good company!

Last week I participated in the monthly meeting of the Hawaii Watercolor Society. Nine fabulous painters and all-around, great people surrounded me — these are some of my favorite people on the island. As we discussed the organization’s events and the year ahead, I kept hearing the same refrain:

“When will I find time to paint?”

Starting a new painting, "Called By the Sea"

Bit by bit, it gets done.

Finished!  View it here.

Every year, month, week, and day, we each start with the same number of minutes. Those minutes presumably belong to us to use as we see fit.

Yet I guarantee you will not do all of the things you want to do — EVER! Even if you scheduled your days to the max, you will never get “it all” done! Choices must be made.

We are creative people coming up with new ideas almost faster than we can write them down.

Some of us have a touch of “Shiny-Object Syndrome” whereby each new idea captures our imagination so quickly that before we know it we are lost down another rabbit hole of time and imagination.

What’s a Creative Person to do?

Make friends with structure AND develop a relationship with small windows of time.

Many of us are not fans of structure. We see it as confining and often rebel against it.

While it is true that too much structure will kill creative enthusiasm, not enough structure allows for too many wild and crazy thoughts to take root in our psyche. They are like weeds crowding out the flowers in a garden. Before you know it, our brain is a tangled mess.

That is why at the beginning of each week, I apply structure to my days.

First I list all of my “Ta-Dahs” (accomplishments) from the week before (none are too small!) in a sketchbook/notebook.

Then I list the things that did not get done last week.

I write in my journal as a way to corral my thoughts, so next I reread the previous weeks’ thoughts and record my “AHAs.”

Finally I list all of the things I want to do in the week to come.

I keep this list handy, carrying it with me back and forth between home and studio. When a task is complete, I record it on the left side of the notebook under the day it was done.

We usually think something will take more time than it actually does. If we wait until we have two-three hours of time before starting a big project, we accumulate SO MUCH DREAD in our heart that we might never start. 

Often the mounting dread weighs heavier and sucks more energy than the actual task will take.

Small windows of time are our friends. 

Set a timer for 15–20 minutes and focus on one task during that time. Even just 15 minutes will get you further ahead than if you do not start at all. This works especially well when faced with a task you do not want to do, or are afraid to start. 

This works really well with painting! Watercolor makes for easy, fast clean up, so even if you only have 15 minutes, you CAN paint, even just a little bit. You will feel better if you do!

Stitch enough 15-minute segments together and you will be amazed at all that you accomplish!

One of my favorite things to do is to paint in public. Not only do I get to paint, I also get to meet new people, sell some art, and reconnect with former students and good friends. I call that a “Win–Win–Win”!

Recently I met several former students at a fair, including Carolyn, Deb, and Sheri.

As is my custom, I asked what they were painting. One said she is getting ready to start a new painting, one showed me a few photos of her paintings on her iPhone, and the other told me she hadn’t painted in a while.

I’m not remembering what I told the last student at the time, but her comments have stayed with me.

People often tell me that I make painting with watercolor look “so easy.” I usually reply, “Well that’s my job.” Then we smile and laugh.

But there is more to painting than that and I don’t want to shortchange anyone!

I wish I had told the non-painting student to slow down a little bit.

Wait, what?

Most of my students can still hear me telling them to “paint faster!” long after class is over. (Sheri said that I sit on her shoulder, telling her to paint faster all the time.)

Watercolor works best when applied in swift, bold strokes (most of the time).

But it’s important to slow down in between the brush strokes! Wow, this might be the first time I have said that in this way.

Some of us have a natural tendency to stop and ponder our work between our strokes. Others might misinterpret my sense of urgency in applying the paint to include the entire painting process.

I am a very fast painter … in the beginning of the painting. I slow W-A-Y down as the painting progresses.

That is the part most people do not see (it really can be boring to watch the paint dry while I decide what to paint next).

Some artists regularly finish a painting in two to three hours. Not me. While I do paint quickly, I have learned to savor the entire slow painting process.

“Paint fast and finish slowly,” that is what I wish I had told the student who hasn’t painted in a while.

“Don’t take stock too soon.” Remember that most paintings go through an “adolescent stage,” when they are not yet finished and you do not like them at all.

Did you read the part where I said a painting is NOT finished in the “adolescent stage”? That means, “Keep Painting!”

That is why I like to have two to three paintings going at all times. When I get “stuck” on one, or need to give it a rest, I have another one to paint.

Starting anything from scratch can be tough; there is a lot of inertia to be overcome. My friend Judy says, “It’s like walking through Jell-O.”

My non-painting student seemed sad when she told me that she hadn’t been painting, and she left the booth fairly quickly. I hope she reads this and that she will pick up her brush again. I also hope that she will be gentle with herself and with her paintings.

Painting is good for the Soul. It can be meditative. Painting can be a dance of life and color. It can be a joy, or it can be a burden if it becomes a “should.”

If painting becomes a “should” for you, definitely take a break and let your painting, your brush, and yourself rest!