How do I stay motivated when learning something new? I had to answer this WordPress prompt because of what I am going through right now, and what I thought about this morning is totally me!

I paint flowers, lots of them. I am currently trying to figure out this whole Etsy keywords SEO thing. I woke up and wanted to meditate and have a gratitude morning. Instead, I opened up my computer and headed over to my shop. AND, I felt hopeless. It has been 6 months, and I have a few sales. I like my work, but I know it’s all in the presentation. Have I created the art that people want to buy? Then there are titles, keywords, and the SEO that frankly, I am sick of.

Then something in me said, ” We have to make this work. There is no if.” This is my dream. I am putting this out there in the world and seeking guidance. I trust and believe the answer will find me! In that moment, I went back to last year’s work and added new pieces to my shop. Then I made a few changes to my keywords and switched out some frames. It was beautiful!

Inside, I felt like a kid in a candy store, or better yet, that kid who is told we are going to paint today, here are the tools, have fun!

How do I stay motivated when I am learning something new? I feel what I feel, give myself a pep talk when I need it, and get back in there and do what I love! Most importantly, I look for a positive lesson that I can learn from and move forward with.

Do I want to share my work with the world? I do! That is the biggest positive reason to move forward. And that made me smile. Here I am. I am going to go for a stroll and splurge on that dessert.

Part One
A ballpoint pen drawing of a Japanese geisha/geiko woman in my Strathmore drawing art journal
#ArtJournal #Geisha #Strathmore

Hobonichi art 19.
Wolfie the wolf spider. I found it about a year ago and kept it because winter was coming. Poor thing was missing two legs and a half but it got by just fine 🀎

From 2025


#eli's-art #art #traditional-art #ballpoint-pen #markers #paper #journal #journaling #art-journal #hobonichi #hobonichi-techo #hobonichi-cousin #original-art #animals #invertebrates #arthropods #arachnids #spiders #wolf-spider #old-piece
Two oil pastel Daler Rowney paintings in my Strathmore Visual art journal mixed media about geishas, Japan, and panic attacks
1. An oil pastel painting of a Japanese geisha/geiko/geigi woman with her eyes closed. She's also having black teeth (Ohaguro)
2. The color red in Japanese color theory: Red in Japanese culture theory: to ward off evil spirits, and that does include panic attacks
#Strathmore #OilPastels #ArtJournal
Front cover of my May art journal. Eleven days in, and the April showers are really paying off. Grace and grit in bloom.

#artjournal #wellness #selfcare #healing #healer #restasresistance #artist #radicaljoy
@ExtinctionR Try to learn some #VisibleMending ! It's simple, it's fun, and you become the designer of your individual style (nothing disheveled)!
You can nearly endlessly use such #mendings and when the piece falls apart, cut it in scraps for becoming a patch for something else ... or bind several pieces to make an #artjournal!
#SlowFashion and #repair mustn't be ugly. It's creative and connects people eg by patch swaps.

Creating Your Own Rituals for a Fulfilling Life

How's life? I have been painting houseplants and came up with the words "I'm here, and I'll always love you!" When I look at the moon and the stars, I feel these words. When I'm walking among flowers, during lovely spring mornings, I feel these words. When I say to the flowers," Good morning, my beauties, we are going to conquer the day," I feel these words. Today, I want to say I like my work better than yesterday! My strokes are loose; there may be a splatter from a project of the past. If […]

https://apaintedgarden.com/2026/05/09/creating-your-own-rituals-for-a-fulfilling-life/

Art Journal Peek: the cutest kitten illustration | iHannas Blog

Today I am sharing with you another peek into my Art Journal, because it's been a while. On this page in the altered book "preppy journal: I used the absolute cutest kitten illustration ever. It's from a vintage children's book that I thrifted and shared in a thrift haul about two years ago. This illustration

iHannas Blog | creativity in everyday life