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It's the last day of April 2021 and I can't find my mojo. I have tried all my tricks: little tacos, a refreshing beverage, bird watching, digging in the garden to plant something new, catching my grandson's ball game with masks on (actually SO fun so a little boost there), exercise, music...oh so much music, scrolling through Instagram artworks, a few new paint brushes, anything to connect to the joy painting brings me. Then I stand at my canvas and I've got nothing. The sensation is numbness.

All indications are telling me to trust my instincts, take it slow, be patient, be kind, and be grateful. I remember thinking; "What will the other side of the pandemic look like, feel like? What will we have to show for this time?"

I didn't want to emerge empty handed so I kept painting. I kept pages of notes on a small yellow pad of paper, ripping each page off when I ran out of space and tossed it into a folder. There are notes of all the instructional videos I watched, twelve in all, (and I even bought one by Albert Handell). In revisiting this folder I soon realized a treasure of precious gems, a pile of yellow pad papers that read like a How-to-Paint book, and personalized to answer my many questions.

There are the usual suspects, notes that an artist would expect such as: values, sketching, preparedness, brushes, focal point, and so on. But the real fun was finding the personal notes I'd made next to certain names. Next to the name of artist Bryan Mark Taylor I wrote the word - hope. During the Max Ginsburg video I wrote down his name, and next to it wrote - figure, paint what you see not what you know. Next to Kathie Odom's name I wrote: note cards, let your brush dance. Then there's Kathleen Dunphy: paint from your heart. And I guess to indicate some more of my favorites I drew a heart next to the names of Albert Handell, Shelby Keefe, Kathie Odom, Kathy Anderson, and Cheri Christensen. 

I'm thinking many of you have done the same thing, or something similar to carry you through the pandemic. Share your artwork and your experiences. We are watching, listening, healing, and learning more than you know.

So back to the canvas with renewed hope and vision, and in the words of Kathie Odom; "Let your brush dance!"

May you find your mojo and never loose it.

May you find a piece of fine art to brighten your day.

Rachelle Lima