Hope

Good evening,

I wrote the following thoughts about 'hope' a few months ago when I was reading The Artist's Way. At the time I was faithfully writing in my morning pages every single day. I don't write in my morning pages with such fervor lately, but I recently went back and reread my writings. I was impressed with what I had to say and came across quite a few good thoughts that I decided to hold onto and maybe share someday. I also decided to try to work on journaling more often since it is so cathartic. Here are my thoughts on hope...

Hope

Hope...she is my dear friend.
Hope...what is she about? Let me think about this for a moment...I know she's got so much going for her. She's everywhere...see:

Hope springs eternal.

Don't give up hope!

I hope everything works out!

Gosh! She is so positive isn't she??? She is always there to boost you along. She's the one friend we all have. It's just that some people...many people...refuse to open up and let her into their lives. I can't imagine giving up my friendship with her.

Hope...she is so awesome! She was there when my dad died. Even at that bad, terrible and sad time she was there helping me to see that dad was in a better place. His physical body couldn't function anymore so it had to end it's time. But his spirit is still here. She helped me to see that.

Hope...as I said she is probably a better friend than any! I know I couldn't live without hope!

She's REAL! Focus on Hope! Know that as long as she is in your life you will not fail and you will keep on keeping on!

Then today I was looking through one of my Gooseberry Patch mail order catalogues and found this quote:

"We must always have old memories and young hopes." - Arsene Houssaye

Reading that quote reminded me about my thoughts on "Hope" so I decided to share them in my blog. I hope you appreciate my point.

And to go along with my meanderings on hope I have to say that today I am feeling very hopeful. I was in a very creative mood and designed and painted a lot of new items that I hope (hmm...there's that word again) to add to my product line very soon. I'll defintitely keep ya'll posted!

I'll be blogging again very soon! Until then...take care!

Jane - A Painting Mom

The First Day

Today is the first day of school for all 3 of my kids. This "First Day" is different though...it is the first day of school that will last all day for my youngest child. Up until now he has only been in school for 1/2 days.

So I am experiencing my "First Day" too. I am a bit lost not knowing what to do with my free time. Oh yes! I can certainly find things to do to keep busy!! Being a work-at-home-mom for the past 4 years I have tons of things that I should get to today...but will I?? I don't know. I kind of feel like taking a break from it all. I have been dealing with the balancing act for a long time and it's not easy when you have kids at home and you are trying to get work done.

So for now the house is quiet...except for the music. I have the satellite set to the '70's songbook' channel. I love it! It brings back so many happy memories from my childhood. I just hope that 30 years from now my kids will get these same warm, fuzzy feelings when they hear songs from this era. I hope I've done my job well. I've certainly tried!

For now I will leave with a quote I stumbled upon this morning...it's quite appropriate for me today...

"Separation anxiety happens to babies at nine months; to mothers their whole lives."

Yes!! I believe this quote perfectly describes my situation today!

Jane - A Painting Mom

Who is 'A Painting Mom' anyways?

Why, I'm a mom who paints of course!

I'm also a wife, daughter, sister, friend and business owner!

I have always loved creating...whether it was drawing, painting or crafting of any kind. When I was a teenager I dreamed of someday creating my art and selling it. But unfortunately I didn't believe it would ever be possible to make a living as an artist so I took a different path in life and got a degree in business.

I got married in 1993 and by 1998 I had 3 children and was devoted to being a stay-at-home mom.

By the time my youngest child was a year old I decided it was time to go back to work. But the thought of chucking my kids off to daycare bothered me so I got on the internet and researched my dream idea of having a home business. I was completely overwhelmed with all of information on the subject. But I saw a common thread 'do what you love'.

So I went to work. I researched...I read...I learned about building a website and selling artwork on the net. Finally in January of 2001 I launched my first website, Images of Home, where I create custom house portraits in a pencil medium. Enjoying portrait work, but itching to create in another medium, I began working with acrylic paints and in 2004 I launched my second website, Creative Name Signs, where I create hand painted personalized room decor. Building a successfull online business took lots of time, hard work and dedication, but my perseverence has paid off greatly.

Then in January of 2009 I launched JMLArt, my Etsy website, where I sell decorative hand painted wall art and other decorative items.

I also blog about the ups and downs of being a business owner, my artwork, and occasionally I'll share a little bit about my family and being a mom in this crazy world. And I love to share inspirational quotes that I find along the way...something I started doing years ago. I also Twitter, and, almost obsessively, I surf the web to find places to advertise and business owners and artists with whom I can network.

So while I'm 'A Painting Mom' there's a whole lot more to me, too!

Thanks for checking out my blog!

***Note: In some instances I may receive advertising income from blog ads and links on my blog. But, no matter what, I always keep the information that I share relevant to my life and experiences.


Jane M. Loedding