You Are the Books You Read the Films you Watch

You are the books you read…

  They say that we become the average of the five people we hang around with the most.  And although it may be true that the people we hang out with have a profound impact on our lives, I also think that it goes much deeper than that. Everything we feed50

Go For it Quote - SkinnyArtist.com

Stop staring, start living!

Should you or shouldn’t you? How many times have you found yourself in a situation like this, staring at another new opportunity or direction in your life?  Now how many times in the past have you backed away from something like this because of the uncertainty it would bring?  Why50

Anything can be

Anything can be…

  When I hear the words “Anything can happen“, I never know exactly what to think. One one hand I hear that little voice inside my head urging me to keep moving forward with my latest project. At the same time, however, I also hear a slightly more menacing voice uttering50

More Important than Fear

More Important than Fear

It’s pretty easy to have courage when we’re not afraid, but that’s not really the point is it? Real courage is about doing something even if it scares the crap out of us. We do it not because we are brave, but because we’ve learned that there are things out50

Not being heard is no reason for silence

Use your Creative Voice…

You have to find a way to use your creative voice even if no one else seems to be listening.  Create because you want/need to create, not because you want to be heard.  Being heard is about fame and recognition for what you have done, but creation is about having50

You're time is limited so...

You’re time is limited so…

Most of us have been been living our life on auto-pilot for so long that the thought of doing something (anything) different obviously scares the crap out of us. Sure we go through the motions. We say that we want things to change, but we don’t. We want approval. We50

Rosa Parks Quote

Never be afraid to do what’s right

Sooner or later there comes a time when you’ve had enough. Enough of their intimidation. Enough of their expectations. Enough of the status quo.  Enough of them trying to convince us that their way is always right and your way is wrong. It doesn’t matter if we are talking about50

Practice Art

Practice your Art

Every time we sit down to practice our art, it changes us.  It’s been said that we’re not the same person that we were yesterday, nor the person that we will become tomorrow. So every day that we don’t find the time to practice our art is an opportunity wasted.50

Faith is Taking the First Step

Taking the First Step

Faith is about taking that first step even when you’re not sure you are on the right path. It’s about having faith in yourself, faith in your abilities, and faith that you are doing what you were meant to do. Having faith doesn’t mean that you are guaranteed success or50

Live a Creative Life

Live a Creative Life

 How can we live a more creative life? It’s been said  that we learn very little from our successes. After all, it’s really not that difficult to read a gushing review of our work or to deposit that big fat commission check in the bank. So what exactly do we50

Welcome New Year

Welcome the New Year

We once again welcome a new year that brings with it a message of hope.  A dawning of a brand new chapter in our lives that shows us that it’s okay to let go of the past and start again. It’s a reset button. It’s an opportunity to reinvent ourselves50

Wishing and Wasting

Wishing and Wasting

In our society we are often taught to set goals, visualize our success, and picture the person we would like to become.  Be more. Get more. Achieve more. Wherever you are in life — never be satisfied. Never be content with where you are or what you currently have.  Living50

Work for a cause not for applause quote

Work for a cause not applause

  Sometimes it feels like we spend so much time trying to get ourselves noticed, that we forget why we’re doing all of this in the first place.  When we base our level of success on fame, money, and admiration we soon discover that there is never enough. When we50

Go where you are celebrated quote

Go where you are celebrated!

Far too often we stay in certain situations or with people who don’t truly support us. We continue to hang around them because we want to belong and we don’t want to end up alone. So we suck it up, we hold back, and we hide who we really are50

Fail, Fail Again, Fail Better Quote

Fail, Fail Again, Fail Better

Let’s face it failure sucks. One moment we’re all excited about this fantastic new idea or project, and then the next thing we know, we are sitting there picking up the broken pieces of our life. Luckily for us, failure is never final. Even though we may have temporarily fallen,50

Power of Love Quote Jimi Hendrix

The Power of Peace…

In order to find peace we must first give up our selfish desire for power and control. When we try to control someone else, we enter into a struggle that we cannot possibly win. We can choose to spend our time fighting with ourselves and others, but in the end, it50

Being grateful for life

Being grateful for what you have

Let’s face it, being grateful for what you already have isn’t easy.  Everyday we are trained by our society to be dissatisfied. To be dissatisfied with ourselves, our career, our weight, our relationships, and even our laundry detergent. We are told that no matter what we have, it could be50

Let It Go...

Just Let It Go…

Just let it go.  At some point in our lives we all have to learn how to let go.  You would think that this would be easy. It would seem that letting go would be a lot easier than holding on — but it’s not. We cling to the familiar50

Dance First --Think Later

Dance First,Think Later

Sometimes we spend so much time worrying about our results and the “what-ifs” that we never get around to actually getting started.  Remember that there will always be time to edit, revise, and erase later if necessary — but first we have to take action. Do whatever your can to50

How to become a better writer

Be a Writer….who writes

 So how do you become a better writer? The  answer is fairly simple… You write, you write some more, and then just when you reach that point when you think it’s all stupid and pointless — you keep on writing. Despite what some people may tell you, nobody can teach50

Emerson Quote Person You Decide to Be

The Person You Decide to Be.

Sometimes it seems like we don’t really have a choice. It feels like what we do, where we have to go, and ultimately who we become has already been decided for us. We feel powerless. In the end, however, it’s your life and only you will decide what type of50

Be beautiful Be yourself

To be beautiful means to be yourself…

In our culture of fame, reality television, and instant celebrity we can sometimes forget that it’s not about getting other people to notice who we are and what we do. It’s about accepting ourselves first.  It’s about accepting where we are at this moment and understanding what we can do50

Inspiration can be found anywhere

Inspiration can be found anywhere

Too often we sit around and wait for inspiration as if it were a UPS driver who suddenly shows up at our door to brings us a package. We wait until everything is just right, but what we don’t understand is that everything we need is already right there in50

Follow your path, unless you're lost

Follow your path, unless…

Don’t be afraid to create your own path, as long as you know where you’re going 😉 “Follow your passion, stay true to yourself.  Never follow anyone else’s path, unless you’re in the woods and you’re lost and you see a path, then by all means you should follow that.”50

We do not believe in ourselves until...

We do not believe in ourselves until…

As teachers and parents sometimes we forget how much a simple word of encouragement can mean to a child.  When we tell them that what they create or what they have to say matters, we are teaching them to believe in themselves, which is one of the best gifts anyone50

Smile source of joy- Thich Nhat Hanh

Sometimes all it takes is a smile…

Sometimes all it takes is a smile to change the world 🙂 “Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy.” ~Thich Nhat Hanh

John Lennon Quote Need to love ourselves

We Need to Love Ourselves First…

Before we can help others. Before we are able to love someone else, we need to first learn how to accept and love ourself with all of our little imperfections. John Lennon discovered like so many before him, that before we can change the world, we need to first change50

Unbeing dead isn't being alive quote

Unbeing dead isn’t being alive…

Just because you’re breathing doesn’t mean that you are living the life you were intended to live.  Everyone has a story to tell.  Maybe it’s time to create yours… “Unbeing dead isn’t being alive.” ~e.e. cummings

The Artists Way by Julia Cameron Book Quotes

“The Artist’s Way” Book Quotes

 What is the secret to being creative? Some people believe that creative talent is a gift that is only offered to a privileged few.  Others believe that creativity is something that can be developed through years of practice and perseverance. What do you think? In her book, “The Artist’s Way”50

MLK-Image Quote-Everybody can be great

Everybody can be great…

Martin Luther King Jr realized that anyone can be great in this life if they are willing to serve and help others achieve their dreams.  He knew that everything in this world is interconnected, and whatever you are willing give to others, will eventually come back to you.  Have the50

Ira Glass Image Quote

It’s going to take some time (and that’s okay)

[Click on the image to make it larger]  Despite what people may tell you, creating art is not easy. Creating art (or anything) is hard work and chances are it’s going to take awhile to get to that point where you are creating something worthwhile.  You’re going to try and50

Mark Twain Image Quote-You Can Be Great

Stay away from small people…

We are here to lift each other up, not tear one another down. This is one of the great life lessons that sooner or later we all must learn.  We are fooled sometimes because in the short-run competition appears to work.  If you win, I lose — therefore in order for50

Stephen King Image Quote On Writing

You can, you should, and you will.

Art is not easy. In fact, writing and creating art is often hard and frustrating work. Those of us, however, who choose this path do it because it’s what we love to do.   We are thought collectors.   We are interpreters.  We are creators. That is simply who we50

Artist Invocation Image Quote

An Artist’s Blessing

[Click image to make it larger] I have always loved this artist’s blessing from the late great Irish poet John O’Donohue. It talks about the mysterious creative process where we often find ourselves waiting for our muse to speak to us.  That moment when we are finally able to reach beyond50

Authenticity and Originality in Art

Beg, Borrow & Create

You don’t have to be original and you don’t need to be revolutionary, you just have to learn how to speak in your own creative voice. Find a way to bring your life and your experiences into your work. There are no new or undiscovered plots under the sun, only50

It's okay to fail, not okay to quit

It’s okay to fail (really)

Failure is part of the process They say that mastery comes from experience and experience comes from failure.  In other words, you can’t get one without the other.  It’s okay to fail as long as you don’t fall into the trap of  blaming someone else for your past mistakes.  Take50

We all have a story to tell - Image Quote

What’s your story?

Everyone has a creative gift to share.  Everyone has a story to tell.  What’s your story?  

Art Fear Book Quotes

“Art & Fear” Book Quotes

Those of you who have been around the Skinny Artist community for awhile probably already know that this is the book that I recommend the most to all types of creative artists.  One of the reasons is the fact that this book doesn’t attempt to tell you how to create50

Mikhail Baryshnikov Quote on Competition

Be a better you…

We all know what it’s like to feel like we are out there competing against the world.  Sometimes it feels like it’s us against them.  If they win we lose, and the only way we rise to the top is by pulling someone else down.  The truth, however, is that50

"Go now and live" by Jeanette Leblanc

Go now and live.

Choose exhilaration over comfort. Choose magic over predictability. Choose potential over safety. Sometimes in order to live the life we want to have, we need to put our fears aside and jump.