"Start by doing what is necessary, then what is possible, and suddenly you are doing the impossible." St. Francis of Assisi

"Weeds are flowers too, once you get to know them." A.A. Milne

"Why shouldn't art be pretty? There are enough unpleasant things in the world." Pierre-Auguste Renoir

"Too many of us are not living our dreams because we are living our fears." Les Brown

"What beauty is, I know not, though it adheres to many things." Albrecht Durer

It's been a day of good email today. I found out one of the pieces I donated to RoCo 6x6 sold today and I was accepted to this year's Clemens and the Pen artist retreat with Community Arts of Elmira!

"A bird doesn't sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song." Maya Angelou

"Talent is just pursued interest." Bob Ross

"Simplify, slow down, be kind. And don't forget to have art in your life - music, paintings, theater, dance, and sunsets..." Eric Carle

"You use a glass mirror to see your face; you use works of art to see your soul." George Bernard Shaw

"Maybe the journey isn't so much about becoming anything. Maybe it's about un-becoming everything that isn't really you, so you can be who you were meant to be in the first place." Paulo Coelho

"Sometimes you learn more from your mistakes than you do from your masterpieces." Bob Ross

People need art, joy, and community more than ever right now. Don't stop sharing your beauty and kindness with the world.

"The longer I live, the more deeply I learn that love, whether we call it friendship or family or romance, is the work of mirroring and magnifying each other's light." James Baldwin

"I'm going to make everything around me beautiful - that will be my life." Elsie de Wolfe

"And into the forest I go, to lose my mind and find my soul." John Muir

"Art does not solve problems but makes us aware of their existence. It opens our eyes to see and our brain to imagine." Magdalena Abakanowicz

"We can't heal the world today but we can begin with a voice of compassion, a heart of love, an act of kindness." Mary Davis

"As long as I live, I'll hear waterfalls and birds and winds sing. I'll interpret the rocks, learn the language of flood, storm, and the avalanche. I'll acquaint myself with the glaciers and wild gardens, and get as near to the heart of the world as I can." John Muir

"No longer shall I paint interiors with men reading and women knitting. I will paint living people who breathe and feel and suffer and love." Edvard Munch

Stony Brook Lower Falls, 6x6, acrylic on wood panel This painting is from my 50 New York Waterfalls collection features a waterfall from Stony Brook State Park in Dansville, NY. It is available to adopt through @roco137 current fundraiser online or in person. Find it as number 1857

"Art is not always about pretty things. It's about who we are, what happened to us, and how our lives are affected." Elizabeth Broun

Here's what I have going on for the month of June! Check out today's blog for more details. laurajaenart.com/june-2025-ev...

"In early June the world of leaf and blade and flowers explode, and every sunset is different." John Steinbeck

"Your dream doesn't have an expiration date. Take a deep breath and try again." KT Witten

"Every artist was first an amateur." Ralph Waldo Emerson

A little plein air watercolor of the purple lupines in the yard. I'm on 79/100 of the 100 Day Project where I'm creating for at least 15 mins (almost) daily

"I see mountains in the distance that I long to climb. But first I must pack up my fear and leave it behind." Jennae Ceclia

"Old habits can take years to form. Forgive yourself if it takes more than a day to break them." Mel Robbins

Proof of lupines this year. There's LOTS and so far they're all purple 💜 There's a frost adversary tonight so I tucked them in with old sheets. Hopefully that will be enough to keep them happy. It looks like the peonies will be blooming in the next week or so too.

"There is no exquisite beauty without some strangeness." Edgar Allan Poe

Happy National Love a Tree Day! I'm not sure if you knew this about me, but I really like trees. They do so much for the planet, wildlife, and us and are so individually beautiful with their unique details. Here a few of my favorites from my Sketchy Trees Collection:

"Don't force your children into your ways, for they were created for a time different from your own." Plato

RoCo 6x6 is right around the corner and their online preview went live this past week! I donated two pieces this year. Be on the look out for Stony Brook Lower Falls and Letchworth Lower Falls, acrylic paintings on wood panel from my 50 NY Waterfalls series.

"The whole culture is telling you to hurry, while the art tells you to take your time. Always listen to the art." Junot Diaz

A little yard plein air this evening

"I would advise young artists to paint as they can, as long as they can, without being afraid of painting badly." Claude Monet

"Don't be afraid of your fears. They're not there to scare you. They're there to let you know that something is worth it." C. Joybell C.

"I could paint for a hundred years, a thousand years without stopping and I would still feel as though I knew nothing." Paul Cezanne

"Stop measuring days by degree of productivity and start experiencing them by degree of presence." Alan Watts

Yay, newsletter done and scheduled to go out tomorrow! Now onto the next thing on my list. P.s. Here are some flower pics from today

"Art is something that makes you breathe with a different kind of happiness." Anni Albers

Calling this one done! I love the curves and curls of these tulip leaves springing from the ground. My newest addition to the Emerging Hope series. Day 60/100 of the 100 Day Project where I'm spending at least 15 mins a day creating

"I don't ask for the sights in front of me to change, only the depth of my seeing." Mary Oliver

I started blocking in colors this afternoon. Next I'll go in and refine a little more. Day 58/100 of the 100 Day Project where I'm spending at least 15 mins a day creating

Some more progress on my current wip. I've started shading in the background (using ink pens). Day 56/100 of the 100 Day Project where I'm spending at least 25 mins a day creating

"It has long been an axiom of mine that the little things are infinitely the most important." Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Anyone have suggestions for books that are a similar vibe to Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree or The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst?

Happy Earth Day! 🌎 "Maybe the clouds and the trees and the flowers love looking at you too."

New wip I started tonight Day 53/100