Inspiration

Appreciating living by the beach

| Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

Surf campWe sometimes take things that are “normal” for granted. I grew up in a beach town and now live 10 minutes from the beach. After a beautiful afternoon at the beach, followed by a morning watching my son participate in surf camp, I realized, “We are SO lucky.”

When I was a kid, there was no surf camp. How lucky these kids are that learning to surf is so accessible! How lucky that camp isn’t on asphalt, but on the beach. Skudin Surf Camp is run amazingly. Seeing the kids popping up and standing as they take their first wave in is inspiring.
Surf camp
I’m trying to get my fill of beach days before summer ends. 😎

Prints of my watercolor beach paintings are now for sale at shop.eileenmckenna.com. Take a peek!
The Blue Collection by Eileen McKenna | watercolor beach ocean landscapes available as limited edition giclee art prints

Inspiration behind the Enamel Beach Pin

| Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

Beach Pin - 1" enamel pin by Eileen McKenna
I sketched an idea for a beach pin on a post it note. It was a simple illustration of the perfect spot at the beach. To show my love for the beach and summer. I added a rainbow umbrella as a nod to my dad, who always had an umbrella attached to the arm of his beach chair.

I first started drawing the design with a stylus on my iPad, but I wanted crisp straight edges, so I switched to the desktop and the mouse. The black lines in the illustration indicated where the metal of the pin will be – I chose gold. (The colored enamel is in the areas between the metal.) I love enamel pins because they are dimensional illustrations!

I’m was so excited when the beach pins arrived and one came on a trip to the beach. Look how good it looks on my beach hat!
Beach Pin - 1" soft enamel pin with rubber clutch
Beach Pin – 1″ soft enamel pin with rubber clutch
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Order one and pin it to your hat or bag. It’s the perfect way to show your love for summer and the beach. Wear it on your beach hat, pin it to your bag, or add it to a bottle of wine with a ribbon.
Beach Pin - 1" soft enamel pin with rubber clutch. Celebrate summer!

 

 

Creative break and a horse farm

| Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

Sunset over the fields
Creatively speaking I seemed to lose a week – traveling for a reunion, the funeral services for a beloved aunt, and finally flying from NY to Virginia for the wedding of a niece. The wedding venue was a beautiful horse farm. I’ve loved horses since I was little, although I haven’t had that much contact with them, aside from a week of horse back riding camp in second grade. Sometimes a break is nice and you come back feeling refreshed. I’m certainly ready to get back to painting.
HorseHorse stables

Creative Epiphany

| Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

Creative epiphany while reading "Crossroads of should and must"
Several years ago I had an epiphany. I read an article about an artist and as I admired her lifestyle – finishing school and dedicating her time to creating art, I wondered, “Who gave her permission to be an artist? Her parents? Her boyfriend? Her teachers?” Sometime later, I don’t know if it was minutes or months, I realized SHE gave HERSELF permission. And the reason I didn’t go to art school wasn’t because my mom questioned the choice, it was because I didn’t believe in myself.

Today I started reading, “The Crossroads of Should and Must: Find and Follow Your Passion” by Elle Luna. Immediately I thought back to my epiphany and the moment I finally gave myself permission to be creative (the catalyst for this blog). Notice I still have a hard time saying “to be an artist.”

In the book Luna makes the distinction between a job, a career, and a calling – “something that we feel compelled to do regardless of fame or fortune; the work is the reward.”

This perfectly explains my desire to be creative. I paint, draw, write, design patterns, etc. because it makes me feel JOY. I don’t do it for others – although positive feedback does propel me forward! I don’t do it for income – although when someone orders a fabric I designed I do feel a thrill. And I’ve been thinking very carefully about selling my work, because I don’t want to jeopardize that joy. I want to continue to make what I feel called to create.

Reading this book I had a second epiphany. I should spend more time doing what brings me joy and stop feeling guilty for the shoulds. The I should work more, clean the house more, etc. Just this week I was thinking about my summer work schedule, and thinking of pursuing additional clients. Instead I’m going to pursue more joy and see where that takes me. 😀

If you’d like to order a copy of the book click here. On a side note – thank you to Yuko of www.honeyberrydiary.com for recommending this book on her blog. Yuko left her job to create art full time! The tagline of her blog is “Do what you love. Be Happy.”

This posts contains affiliate links to products I use and recommend. I earn a small commission whenever you buy using these links, at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting my blog!

A Trip to the Fire Island Lighthouse

| Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

Recently my friend and I spent the morning visiting the Fire Island Lighthouse. I love the walk on the boardwalk through the dunes.

We first visited the bay beach on the north side of the lighthouse. It’s so quiet there without the sound of the ocean waves. By the time we made our way to the ocean beach, the fog had burned off and it had turned into a beautiful day!

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We collected shells and rocks and pieces of driftwood.

Beach treasures found near the Fire Island Lighthouse

My friend Char posts her beautiful photos of sunsets and cherry blossoms on Instagram @charmychar – check her out.

👉 I’m finding it very inspiring, creating my new newsletter “My Creative Collection.” Check out the latest issue here!

Dogwoods my next print pattern design?

| Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

Dogwood flowers in my sketchbook Just like I knew it would, working every day in my sketchbook has really opened me up creatively. That and working beyond the beach theme. It’s been 12 consecutive days!

This week the dogwoods right outside our windows have been calling to me! I’m thinking about using my dogwood illustrations to create a repeating pattern. I’ve been designing a pattern a month this year. See my other designs here.