Edward Calvert

"Only paint what you love in what you see...."

— Edward Calvert

English Painter/Printmaker

1799 - 1883

Sometimes we put too much into our creative work. Simplicity is often best.  One way of reducing the clutter in our creative work is to focus only on what we love and ignoring everything else.  Think about what you can cut from your work without destroying its meaning and purpose.  What is extra?  What do you need to let go of so you can clarify the meaning of your work.?

Kahlil Gibran

"In every winter's heart there is a quivering spring, and behind the veil of each night there is a smiling dawn."

— Kahlil Gibran

Lebanese Artist and Poet

1883 - 1931

Hope is an essential gift of living.  Without hope, we are wandering through a dark, desolate world.   In even our worst moments, we need to remember that life will get better.  As artists and writers, we need to believe that the next painting or the next poem will be our best.    If we quit now, we may never know what is around the next corner.  Keep dreaming.  Keep hoping.  Keep believing.

Victor Hugo

"Laughter is the sun that drives the winter from the human face."

— Victor Hugo

French novelist, poet

1802 - 1885

Humor helps to cleanse the spirit — to clean out the cobwebs in our souls.  Are you able to laugh that deep belly laugh?  To give yourself up to the moment?  What makes you laugh?  I don't always laugh at the same things as others.  I don't laugh at many movies that others find funny.  I enjoy humor in the absurd, in the contradictions.  I don't like humor that makes people look stupid.  I don't like humor that makes fun of groups of people.  I can laugh deeply and have laughed so hard that I have tears in my eyes and can hardly breathe.  Have you laughed today?

Mort Walker

"Laughter is the brush that sweeps away the cobwebs of the heart."

— Mort Walker

1923-

Sometimes the heart grows stale and tired with the routines of life and needs a good spring cleaning.  Laughter is a powerful cleanser that helps to heal the pain we feel and revive our hopes that have been buried under layers of dust.  A deep belly laugh is like a breath of spring air on a winter's day.  Find those special moments of laughter and enjoy them.