Painting Serenity During Strange Times...

Well...I don't know where to start when talking about the past few weeks. I'm sure, like me, you've had a lot going on in your mind and one of those things is how to focus on the day-to-day activities of work, family and community while still caring about the suffering in the world.

My brother and I have recently had a discussion about empathy. Empathy can be very draining. Empathy can weigh on our own emotions. We need to process those. And sometimes they get heavy. I'm naturally very empathetic and this was difficult for me to get out of the way.

But compassion - that can be a powerful way to care for others. Compassion comes from a place of strength. A place that can really help. And sometimes it's difficult to see the difference. He sent me this video from BBC which I found very interesting.

I found as I tried to process world events I needed to process the heavy emotions that came from empathy. I was sad. But I still had peaceful skies, a safe home and family and I had to spend time appreciating these things so I could shift feeling worn down and begin to feel strong. Strong enough to feel compassion and feel like I had opportunities to help and share my strength.

One of the ways I shifted was prayer and faith. The other was family. And not surprisingly I used painting. Painting has always been a blessing in that I could find a way to tune out the worries and pain and bring the best of life and feelings of serenity and calm into focus.

I wasn't sure what to do with these paintings. They are simple and sweet and reference local scenery and images of my children. But in the end, they brought me a gift of compassion and a place of gratitude that will help me go forward.

Now, I want to make some of these works available as ‘Studies in Serenity' for others to have an opportunity to own a hand-crafted, emotionally rich original work born in a time of distress but focusing on the very best of life here on earth.

I will be providing first access to my 'Studio Insiders' as well as the release details so if you are interested in getting those updates please fill out the Subscription info on the main page and check your email to confirm so you won't miss out on these one-of-a-kind works.

Wishing you well,

Shannon