Art by Niki Hilsabeck

"Angel Bird" Click here to view or purchase First, I want to start off with a disclaimer: although I may speak in general terms, when I say "artists," I'm really talking about myself or creative people I've known and interacted with-- everyone is obviously an individual and handles things in unique ways.  So this post is really about how this artist deals with this particular struggle. FOMO (fear of missing out) is everywhere.  Although the term itself is relatively recent to those of us who remember life before the internet, the concept is as old as humans.  It goes all the way back to the Garden of Eden.  Satan tempted Eve by telling her she would be like God if she ate the fruit from the forbidden tree.  Most people are deeply aware of this feeling, even if they might not admit how much of a hold it has over their lives. Artistic FOMO is a unique beast.  If we've learned any art history, we've been introduced to the stories of artists from all wal...

Now that I've gotten a little better handle on gardening (or at least not killing my plants), I find myself doing "plant checks" throughout the day.  I check first to see what's been munched on by the gophers, squirrels, bunnies, hornworms, or whatever else helps itself to my plants.  I also check to see what needs to be deadheaded, what's sprouted, and what needs water.  Sometimes I just like to pull up a gardening mat to sit on and observe the plants.  This is especially fun when new things are sprouting-- if we're not in the middle of a heatwave or a cold snap (rare here in Fallbrook), I usually have new seeds going somewhere. This morning was wet and foggy, so I also got to go out early and look for unique spiderwebs.  I haven't tried painting one yet, but having grown up a fan of Charlotte's Web , I take pictures of the more intricate ones.  The kids and I also do a "wellness check" on our current crop of entertaining bugs and reptiles...

We live in an age where we can spend our entire day receiving input from others, even without leaving the house or talking to anyone.  We can read messages, articles, scroll through profiles and updates, or even turn on that old dinosaur known as the t.v.  For me, there's also reading novels-- something I thoroughly enjoy but feel a little guilty indulging in when there are so many other things I should be doing.  Add to that the time I spend listening to the birds outside, or gazing at the ocean, or drinking in the afternoon light on the oak trees, and there's very little energy left for output-- which in my case is painting or writing new things.  "Ready to Pounce" on Daily Paintworks And then there are the cats.  They're very distracting, but they do provide me with a bit of creative inspiration. On a side note, I feel this way about learning a foreign language.  In the year I spent in Germany, I probably spent the first six months mostly liste...