I cannot express the joy I feel when I see any artwork t my nieces create! I have always loved art as a child which has continued on in my adult years. So often we get discouraged by our peers along the way telling us that our art is “no good” or “You call ‘that’ art?”. Art is what you make it. It express the emotions we feel at the time. Art does not need to be awesome, it just needs to be whatever we want it to be. Simply put, art is just a way to express our emotions in a creative way. It doesn’t have to be gallery worthy nor does an artist have to strive to be the next Picasso. All art just has to be a creative expression of yourself in whatever manner you see fit.

To that end, my niece Sam is a wonderful artist. Like her sister Amanda, she finds creative ways to express herself. Lately, she has taken to Zentangle and doodling. She recently shared a drawing with me that I would like to share with you now.

In the words of my niece Sam:

“In the free time, everyone needs a break right? I doodle just to get hard feelings and stress away. There was a picture of a butterfly and I doodled around it. This meant to me in a way, all of the emotions and stress all put into one picture. It’s not hard to doodle. It’s fun and easy! It just takes 5 minutes or less and makes very person feel good!”

It is important to encourage young artists. I love everything my nieces do and will do anything to support them in their creative endeavors. Art is an important part of our lives. It inspires us, it brings us joy and art can be the very thing to lift our spirits in dire times. Art is important to us all and we need to ensure that it continues well into the future.

Take a moment today to encourage a young artist in your life. Who knows, they may be the next Picasso 🙂