Wild and Precious Life

Spring is in the the air

Tell me, what is it you plan to do

with your one wild and precious life?

—Mary Oliver

The plein air life with my favorite fur baby

Can you hear the sound of the birds? They sound so happy and joyous singing merrily after a long winter. It’s hard not to smile listening to them. The sweet sounds of spring. It seems to have finally sprung in Michigan, and with it, plein air painting season. That urge to get outside and stay outside.

While sunflower season is a ways off, the sun is out and it feels wonderful!

Being just back from the Plein Air Convention, I’m armed with new ideas, new brushes and lots of enthusiasm. Value, shape, color, edges. Light and shadow and separating the two. Will I remember?

One can gather so much information while studying. The key to making it all sink in is in the doing. The practice. One can not learn by only listening and watching. It’s about making art over and over again with intention. Measuring your progress and getting out the next day and doing it all over again.

These views are just around the corner.

So when I ask myself the question Mary Oliver poses in the quote at the top of this blog — “Tell me, what is it you plan to do

with your one wild and precious life?” — I have so many answers. Make art. Travel. Love. Be outside. Play with my dog. Be.

Yes, there is much to do with this one wild precious life. And spring feels like the perfect time to refocus on what’s important. What will you be focusing on this spring?

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