Sailboats for Finn

My little boy, Finn, is the light of my life. His smile and laugh are contagious. It's hard to not feel joy when he is near. He radiates hope and energy. He lives in the moment, which is something I strive to do. He challenges my creativity, and he inspires me every day. He even inspired me before he was born.

I did very little painting when I was pregnant with Finn, because breathing oil paint and paint thinner fumes is not a good idea for a pregnant lady. I was determined, however, to paint something for Finn before he was born.

It didn't take me very long to settle on the theme of Sailboats for his bedroom. There is something about sailboats that speaks to me. I find them to be calming. And magical. When I see a sailboat, I wonder where they have been and where they are going. I think of adventure, and I think of the ocean. I love the ocean. If I could live anywhere but here, it would be next to the ocean. Like painting, being near the ocean makes me feel alive and at peace.

I ended up painting two sailboat pictures for Finn. I love the fact that my little boy has original art in his bedroom. Yes, it's Mom Art, but it's original art. He also has a boat steering wheel and a colorful world map that says "Finn's World". He's already learning about where he lives and where India is. He can show you where the Penguins are and where the Blue Whales spend their time. He can also point out where his paintings hang on the wall.

I hope these paintings inspire Finn to dream. I think that's perhaps the magic of sailboats. I want my little boy to dream and create and become inspired to do whatever it is that he wants to do. Just like he inspires me.

Searching for inspiration

I'm not a photographer. I don't know anything about shutter speed, pixels or lighting. But I seem to carry my camera with me everywhere I go searching for something interesting to paint. I find myself climbing mountains or strolling through towns for the purpose of finding inspiration. Anytime my husband and I are in a new town, whether it's 60 or 600 miles away, I search for places where I can find places that might look interesting on canvas. When I was 5 months pregnant, I went to Washington DC with my husband. He was on business, I was much more official "art" business. While he worked all day inside, I walked around town, exploring with my camera. The 90 degree temperature and my pregnant belly did not slow me down. I've convinced my husband, who does not enjoy heights, to take a tram up a mountain in Palm Springs so that I could search for something intriguing with my camera. I've fallen in the mud, tripped on rocks, got myself lost on a trail and was chased by while dogs (well, maybe not that last part) all in the name of finding inspiration. It feels like a lost cause sometimes, because of the thousands of pictures I've taken over the years, I use a small fraction of them to paint pictures. It's hard to know what will hit my creative nerve once I see the pictures at home.

These are some of the pictures I've taken that will likely never make it to canvas. If you are curious, they include San Francisco, various places on the Oregon coast, Acapulco, Newport, Eugene, Washington DC, Palm Springs & Palm Desert, Snoqualmie Falls (Washington), Seattle, Multnomah Falls and Smith Rock.

It's too bad that I make it a practice to not paint pictures with people in them because most of the pictures I've taken lately involve a handsome 1-year old boy named Finn. And I find him to be quite the inspiration.