If It Wasn't Hard, Everyone Would Do It

"It's supposed to be hard. If it wasn't hard, everyone would do it.
The hard... is what makes it great."
~Jimmy Dugan (Tom Hanks' character), A League of Her Own

 

It's not always easy living the creative life! We may struggle to make time to make our art. Or we may have to overcome fears of self-doubt and insecurity to perform or exhibit our work. And at times it may feel like an uphill battle, with no assurance that we'll book the gig, sell the work, or receive recognition for our sweat and perseverance.

When it feels hard, and we feel like giving up on our creative dreams, is when we most need to remind ourselves why we do what we do. And then recommit to our dreams, ourselves, the life we came here to live, and the love we came to express.

 

In 2009, the first time I showed my paintings at Art Farm (an Eric Matelski event to benefit Denver Urban Gardens) it was rained out and our work spent the day under garbage bags.



Photo credit: Tim DeMasters

On the surface, the event didn't appear successful. But through a contact I made that day, the event led to my first solo art exhibition 3 months later. The night my show opened at Michelangelo's Coffee and Wine Bar, I sold 5 paintings and a percentage of the proceeds benefited another non-profit, The Cunningham Foundation, through my Canvas for a Cause practice. It was a huge success!

Photo credit: Sean Richardson

We never know who we'll meet next or what new opportunity will present itself. That's the mystery and magic of the creative life! And it may happen when we least expect it, when it feels hard and we feel like giving up. So don't! Instead, get some rest. Then step back in front of the canvas, the page, or the audience, and keep doing the work.

It's when our fears are the loudest, and we want to turn back, that it's most important to keep moving forward. The seeds we've been planting and nurturing are right under the surface of the creative soil getting ready to breakthrough. Keep giving them love and light. We're going to bloom! 
  

Live creatively, even when it's hard,
Marcella

Painting the Town Red

Who has time to write a new blog posting when there are SO many fun things to do in Denver in the spring time? Pictured are the highlights of another weekend lived to the fullest!

Got ready to step out and paint the town red Saturday night

in my patent leather pumps with matching pedi.

My fiancé Sean and I started dinner at Strings with appetizers

in the bar under my painting "It Begins With Me." 

The HOPE Art Show will be at Strings through June 5.

Visited my painting "Hope" (left) and a painting by Laurie Maves (right) upstairs at Strings. Both have been donated to the Cunningham Foundation for the June 5 HOPE Ball silent art auction.

Cut lilacs Sunday morning before heading down to 16th Street Mall

to look for the piano I painted for Downtown Denver Partnership's

"Your Keys to the City" for Spring 2010.

"But it would match everything I own!"

I loved this bag, but Sean talked me out of buying it. 

How many shoulder bags does a girl really need?

There it was, the piano I painted, at 16th & Welton!

And to my delight, a little boy was playing it!

The smallest of all the pianos painted,

mine kept attracting the children until...

...this women came out of a store,

aptly called Only In Colorado, and started playing Mozart!

She played with such passion! 

It brought my piano to life and me to tears - of joy!

It turns out her name is Sue and she works at Only in Colorado. 

She told me she plays every day during her 15 minute break!

I don't really play, but I pretended to. 

You can pretent, or play for real, through Friday, June 18.

Sunday eve we wound down our weekend with a BBQ and a bon fire

in Kittredge at our friends Tom and Jeanne's house.

That's Tom and Jeanne - the Propritors of Knot New Wood. 

They custom design and build furniture from salvaged wood. 

Check out their website for their summer art festival schedule: http://www.knotnewwood.com/

Celebrating Life at First Solo Art Show

Posing with singer/songwriter Mailyn Faulkner

and art collectors Anita & Larry Larson

This month I am the featured artist at Michelangelo’s Coffee and Wine Bar in Denver. To celebrate this artistic achievement I hosted a reception there on Saturday, November 7. It was an evening to delight the senses with happy hour extended an additional hour, inspiring music performed and sung by my friend and singer/songwriter Mailyn Faulkner, and nineteen of my original works of art adorning the walls and adding to the ambiance. It was a wonderful experience to sell five of my paintings opening night, but the highlight of the evening was being honored by Tammy Cunningham of The Cunningham Foundation with a HOPE bracelet.

Photo courtesy of The Cunningham Foundation

The HOPE bracelets are a fundraising project that provides breakfast, lunch, an education, uniforms and shoes to 1,500 children at the Project Mercy orphanage in Yetebon, Ethiopia through The Cunningham Foundation. During the months of November and December 15% of the proceeds from the sale of my paintings at Michelangelo’s, and Mile Hi Church, will benefit The Cunningham Foundation. So I asked Tammy Cunningham, and fellow artist Laurie Maves, to share with the guests at my reception about the philanthropic work they do at Project Mercy through the foundation. It is with great pride that I wear my HOPE bracelet as it is a constant reminder that by honoring my creative self I am able to have a direct impact on the lives of children in the developing world and that I am living my mission: to send out love into the world one painting at a time.

Photo courtesy of The Cunningham Foundation

A first solo art show would be a significant achievement for any artist, but for me it was particularly sweet because eight years ago I could not imagine such an achievement. At that time I was just being reintroduced to art, after denying my creative self for nearly a decade, in the from of art therapy at the hospital I was being treated at for a life threatening bought of depression. Since my breakdown, or what I prefer to call my breakthrough, I have come to realize that it is imperative that I honor my creative self. When I didn’t, life for me was not worth living. So celebrating my first solo art show at Michelangelo’s Coffee and Wine Bar was not just about celebrating an artistic achievement, it was about celebrating life, my life, and a life that I now honor and live to its fullest!

Honoring my creative self and painting brings me joy. But donating a percentage of the proceeds from the sale of my paintings to a cause I support gives my life purpose. Dr. Ernest Holmes once said, “Let the one who is sad, depressed, or unhappy find some altruistic purpose into which he may pour his whole being, and he will find a new inflow of life which he has never dreamed.” And so it is.

After the achievement of being the featured artist at Michelangelo’s, what’s next? I’ve been pondering this question for the past week and answer is simple. To keep living, to keep loving, to keep painting, and to keep bringing attention to the causes that are near and dear to my heart: the philanthropic work of The Cunningham Foundation and eliminating the stigma attached to people who have or continue to struggle with depression.

My solo exhibit at Michelangelo’s Coffee and Wine Bar has been extended two weeks and will run through December 12, 2009. Please visit http://fineartamerica.com/events/1-featured-artist-of-the-month.html for their address and hours.

To learn how you too can support children of the developing world through The Cunningham Foundation please visit http://www.cunninghamfoundation.org/

To view Laurie Maves artwork and learn about her philanthropic endeavors please visit http://www.lauriemavesart.com/