I had been painting about five years and my work wasn’t improving. Luckily for me, it was during this time that I found an amazing watercolor artist and teacher who changed my art — and me — from the inside out.

You see, over the years I developed some bad habits as an artist — mostly in my thinking — and I didn’t even know it until that awful but glorious day. I pranced into class with my huge potted red geranium all set to paint a masterpiece. I was halfway into the painting when I just was completely overwhelmed by the big geranium flower heads full of tiny petals and all those curly leaves. I couldn’t do it; well, rather I didn’t want to do it anymore. It was too hard. So I pulled out another piece of paper and went to work on a still life of apples — I could do that.

My teacher stopped me and challenged me to finish the geranium. She pointed out that I had lots of great starts and very few finished pieces. What? Who, me?

So I picked up where I left off on the geranium and soon found myself completely miserable, angry, frustrated and crying. Tell me, Who cries in art class!?

Next thing I knew, she was sitting down beside. Here is what she told me:
1. Stop judging your work while you are painting.
2. Break it down. Work through it piece by piece.

With that in my head, I was able to work through it and finish it. This picture is framed and still hangs in my house.

But my love of geraniums doesn’t end there. Art always traipses into the real world, you know. It was during a difficult time in my life that I decided to move — California, here I come! I once again found myself overwhelmed and frustrated. Can I do this?

While waiting for my car at the rental place near LAX, I looked around and saw geraniums growing in every spot where there was even a hint of soil. I remembered what I learned from my art… Break it down. Work through it... piece by piece.