As I make time for art the more my passion for it grows. It becomes a more important part of my day and my routine every day. Every time I force myself to sit down with a pencil and my sketchbook to draw another free fruit, I'm reminded that this is what I love to do.

I took a small painting into my coworker who snagged me the free and gorgeous lemons last week. She was ecstatic. Something that was a simple throw away practice sketch to me made her day. She told me later in conversation that her nephew is into art but he keeps talking about waiting until he has time.

IF you wait until you have time, you'll run out of it.

Jonathan Manning wrote about how there are moments in your life that open your eyes and show you that you have to do stuff, and do it now before you run out of time. His blog is the Artistic Biker (if you aren't reading on a regular basis please do so starting now, and I'll forgive you for not reading his stuff earlier).

When I was in my first year of college my Grandfather, whom I was very close with, was diagnosed with lung cancer. He'd spent his whole life working, working hard and saying things like "When I retire I'm buying a set of oil paints and taking some classes" and "When I retire, I'm going to drive to California and swim in the Pacific." Well, he retired and a year later he was diagnosed with cancer and the summer between my 2nd and 3rd year he passed away. Many of those "When I retire" goals never realized. That has always stuck with me, and mostly the fact that he had all sorts and hopes and dreams that he was waiting to realize and never did. 

So, if you don't make time for "it" whatever big thing it is in your life you want to realize you could never end up doing it. Make time for it now, even if it's only 10 or 15 minutes a day. If my grandfather had taken a painting course when he was 50 He'd have gotten 17 good years of painting. One of the last things he told me was that he wanted me to do everything I wanted and not to put it off, a powerful message for a 20 year old girl from a dying man.

It's been a long time time since my Grandfather died, but this week is the anniversary of when he went into the hospital for the last time, 2 weeks later he passed away.