Hello, Subscriber First Name,

How are you today? Is the sun shining in your corner of the world? Are flowers blooming?

I have a lot going on this month, but I wanted to pop in and share a bit of joy and light with you today.

I’m working on my design for my 2023 tea towel/wall hanging calendar. It’s a yearly project and this will be my 7th design.

It feels wonderful to focus on painting again, though it was challenging when I first picked up the brush. You’ve got this. I told myself over and over. Be patient.

What started as a boring-looking flower transformed a bit more with each layer of paint and each line of detail. Now I love it and am so glad I didn’t give up.

It’s hard to be patient. With ourselves. With our work. With our creativity. With life.

All we can do is just keep going. Cheer ourselves on. Let things unfold bit by bit.

A creative prompt:

Cheer yourself on.

Come up with a short phrase of encouragement. Or give yourself a longer pep talk in your journal or sketchbook.

This spread is from my class about overcoming fear and pursuing your creative dreams.

Underneath the painted page on the left is a list of fears. I reframed each fear on the right side and then painted over the left side to refocus my thoughts in a more positive direction. It was such a fun project and a good way to flip negative thinking. Maybe you’ll join me in class?

Some inspiration:

• I recently ran across Laly Mille in In Her Studio magazine. Intrigued by what she said about re-arranging her work space to better facilitate both art-making and filming classes (something I struggle with, too), I hopped over to her website. It’s so lovely and she even has a blog and a free five day class about art supplies.

• Do you love quotes? I do. And so, of course, I love Susan Branch’s new book Distilled Genius (thanks, Mom, for my copy!).

• As things in my corner of the world transition into fall, I’m always intrigued thinking the opposite transition is happening on the other side of the planet. Kate’s lovely post (musing about creativity) is filled with daffodils (and a gorgeous sweater that has me dreaming of one day finally learning to knit).

• I have no lavender in my current garden so this post was a lovely way to live vicariously.

• Have you ever gotten frustrated using masking fluid with watercolors? Ohn Mar Win shares her top tips for using masking fluid in this post (she also has a new class all about it, too!).

• When reading decorating books I usually just flip through looking at the photos. Recently I’ve been enjoying actually READING Marian Parsons’ book Feels Like Home.

• You don’t only need to give yourself a pep talk today, you can write to your younger self (or selves), too. What sort of letter would you write?. Gaye Glasspie’s is so touching.

• Janine recently shared UPPERCASE by the numbers. It’s interesting to think about the costs behind an independent magazine and I found the breakdown of subscribers by country to be fascinating. Are you a subscriber?

• I enjoyed this sketchbook flip-through from Amy Stewart.

At the end of August, my sweet Clara got the all-clear from the surgeon to return to normal activities. She and I are both delighted to be able to go on long walks again and I love having her in my studio with me (it’s on the second floor and while her knee was healing she couldn’t do the stairs).

The healing process required a lot of patience and it was hard for me. I wish I’d given myself a pep talk then.

And I hope you’ll give yourself a pep talk during whatever challenges you’re facing right now.

Let’s be kind to ourselves. Let’s shine our lights not just for others, but for ourselves, too.

Until next time, wishing you joy,

Hi, I'm Anne Butera, the artist behind My Giant Strawberry. 

Thank you for inviting me to your inbox!

I'm completely self-taught and my experiences have fueled my passion not only for watercolor, but also for encouraging others to embrace their creativity and discover their joy. (Read more about my journey here).

You can purchase my art including original paintings, fine art prints, fabric and other product designs on my website and elsewhere on the web.

Looking to learn how to paint or find creative inspiration? I teach online. Come join me in class.

In addition to teaching, I love sharing inspiration on my blog. If you want to stay connected, I hope you'll join me there. 

With gratitude.
--A

Know someone who'd like to receive my newsletter? Share the joy by forwarding this email to a friend.