Here is a piece of advice I’ve read in two books lately:

Create what you know.

I’m sure you’ve heard the advice given to writers. Write what you know. But have you applied that to your own art and journals?

I haven’t. Heck, I haven’t even taken an inventory. What subjects/people/things do I know the most about? What have I studied? What lights up my imagination? What was I drawn to before art became my obsession/passion?

(And don’t worry about that word obsession. Having a healthy obsession with your work, with your journal, is a good thing.)

So I sat down to figure it out.

(This list remains a work in progress.)

And thus, when asked what I would paint on the little ceramic piece I’d created a background on, I said,

“A unicorn. I love unicorns, so why the heck aren’t I painting them?”

And I did.

What do you love? What are you an authority on? Why aren’t you painting/writing that?

I am considering making more of these. How cute, right? I want to paint more of the things I loved in childhood, that fly through my dreams, that are full of magic. What are our unicorns these days? What is YOUR unicorn?