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21 contributions to A Smidgen of Calm
“I can’t draw.”
Can I gently challenge that? You absolutely can draw. 🙌🏻 The act of putting pencil to paper isn’t the difficult part. The difficult part is expecting yourself to be brilliant before you’ve given yourself permission to learn. We don’t expect an athlete to become an Olympian without years of training. We don’t expect a doctor to qualify without years of medical school. A chef wasn’t born knowing how to create incredible food. They started by being curious, making mistakes, and practising over and over again. So why do we expect ourselves to pick up a pencil and create a masterpiece on day one? Creativity is no different. It’s a skill that grows with time, patience and practice. 🥰 So perhaps instead of saying, “I can’t draw,” try saying: “I can draw… I’m just at the beginning of my journey.” Let go of perfection. Stay curious. Keep showing up. Because every artist you admire was once the person who thought they couldn’t do it either. Keep going. Your future self will thank you. 💜🙌🏻 First two pics are from the start of my journey many years ago. The third is more recent. I will always keep practicing and I can’t wait to see what I am creating in another 20 years 🌱
“I can’t draw.”
6 likes • 3d
For authors, we start calling ourselves authors. Authors write. You can have authors that write stuff that others don't appreciate, but that isn't the point. If you write, whether there is enjoyment or not. Whether there is success or not, you are an author. Even if you don't publish, you are an author because you wrote something. I feel the same way about artists. If you create art, then you are an artist. Some people pay millions of dollars for stuff that some would say looks like a baby was playing with paint. Stop judging already. Get out of your head. You can draw. You can paint. As long as you are attempting it, then you are doing it. Just because you haven't had success yet or someone who does not enjoy your art tells you something bad does not mean you aren't good at it. You just need to find your people, and nowadays it's easier to do that than in the past. It's not easy, but it is eas-ier. Anyway, if anyone wants me to get on my soapbox again about how they should believe in themselves, let me know; for now, I will step off of it.
Grief is not experienced only in death.
My friend is alive but ..... there is a part of me that wishes he wasn't. He had a terrible motorcycle accident on Sunday. He's 73 and rides his motorcycle A LOT! He has over 350,000 miles on the bike (named Boomer). This accident caused by another driver, not fault of his own. It happens. Not being seen by motorcyclists is something that is relatively common. This accent has left him very broken and in a state that could be..... vegetative. We don't know yet. His body is broken. Shatter pelvis, shattered wrist. Bleeding and swelling in the brain. So I am grieving. We used to be partners. We dated for 2 years. We did not end our relationship badly, we just wanted different things. We have remained friends. I am grieving someone who is still alive. These pics are from our many cross country road trips in 2012 and 2013.
Grief is not experienced only in death.
1 like • 3d
So sorry to hear this. Reach out to me at any time if you need anything.
Welcome 🤗
I am very happy to welcome @Ann Yanes to our wonderfully creative community 🥳🙌🏻🎨 Your more than welcome to share a little about yourself ❤️
Welcome 🤗
2 likes • 6d
Welcome
Double Welcome 🤗 🤗
We have made some growth 🙌🏻💜 welcome to Smidgen of Calm @Melissa Nanocchio-Willford and @Valerie Demmons make yourself at home and your welcome to share a little about yourselves 💜🙌🏻
Double Welcome 🤗 🤗
2 likes • 14d
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🎨 Stepping Outside My Comfort Zone 🎨
I’ve recently started taking oil painting classes with @Michelle Cyr , who runs an amazing community called Painting for Drawing Drop Outs. 🎨🫟 The way she teaches is honestly genius. You don’t need any drawing skills at all, which takes away so much of the fear and makes the whole process feel accessible and enjoyable. 🙌🏻🎨 We all know I love painting, but oils have always been a bit of a challenge for me. So I decided it was time to learn from someone who really knows their stuff, and I’m so glad I did. 🫶🏻 This is just my first layer, but I’m genuinely so happy with how it’s going so far. There’s something really exciting about being a beginner again and learning a new way of working. @Michelle Cyr knowledge, experience and ability to teach this medium are worth every single penny. If you’ve ever wanted to try oils but felt intimidated, I can honestly recommend giving it a go. https://www.skool.com/painting-for-drawing-dropouts-5983/about?ref=446509eecea34ca59da48cfbac7feccf Now to trust the process and see where the next layer takes me! 🙌🏻🎨
🎨 Stepping Outside My Comfort Zone 🎨
3 likes • 14d
Beautiful.
1-10 of 21
@fred-tyre-3122
I love the creative process as a fiction writer and visual artist, but my day job is spent solving complex computer problems by creating software.

Active 2h ago
Joined May 22, 2026