Imagine waking up one day to find that a simple habit has transformed your life in ways you never expected. That’s exactly what happened to me when I decided to paint “a little bit everyday.” What started as a modest 30-day goal blossomed into a life-changing journey, unveiling hidden talents and opening doors I never knew existed.

On February 25th, just before the world changed with COVID-19, I embarked on a personal challenge to paint daily. Little did I know that this small commitment would not only carry me through the isolating times ahead but also birth an entirely new creative venture.

Join me as I share how dedicating just a few minutes each day to my passion led to an exciting new art business, complete with original paintings, art prints, and a growing customer base.

An unexpected journey begins

For most of my adult life, I painted sporadically, finding solace and joy in creativity while managing a marketing communications business and later, an intuitive energy healing and hypnotherapy practice. Despite these fulfilling endeavors, a part of me always longed for more artistic expression. During a session with an intuitive reader, he told me something like, “If you don’t get back to your art now, you probably won’t in this lifetime.” His words shook me. There was no way I wanted to leave this world, without having tried. I had secretly earned to be an artist all my life.

The reader suggeted that I paint a couple of hours everyday, but that felt like too much of burden on top of working an 8 hour day. Instead, a day later on February 25, 2020 , just prior to the COVID lockdown, I commenced a goal to paint “a little bit every day” for 30 days. I promised myself that as long as I did atleast 10 minutes I could stop. Commiting to a small chunk like 10 minutes seemed infinitely more doable than 2 hours everyday, when I’d never painted consistently in my life!

But where to begin? I had no idea what to paint so I searched Pinterest for something that was pretty and looked easy to do. I saw the painting below on Pinterest. I was colorful with simple lines and blocks of color, and I liked the subject matter.

My original intention was to copy the painting for practice, however as soon as I started painting, my own preferences quickly bubbled up. Rather than a daytime sky, I painted a night sky in eggplant purple because it’s my favorite color. The sun become a moon because I find the moon enchanting. Instead of a swirley background, I painted in ghosty animals - a coyote, raven, and a little mouse. I changed the hair color on the women to represent me and my besties, and painted symbols on their clothes that were meaningful to me. When I was done, I had amazed myself and totally loved the painting.

I had so much fun painting this style that I designed and painted another one, and then another. Each new piece sparked fresh inspiration, leading to a delightful cascade of creative expression. Before I knew it, one painting had blossomed into a series.

When I first started my “a little bit everyday” goal, I was still working full time at Gateway Cottage Wellness Center in Sedona as an independent intuitive energy healer, reader and hypnotist. I’d come home from work around 6pm, feed Sienna and Charlie (my dog and cat), then eat dinner and watch a little TV. Many nights I was tired and wanted to veg, but come 8pm, I’d drag my but off the couch and paint. Some nights I only painted for 10 or 15 minutes, other nights an hour or so.

I painted like this a little bit everyday, including Saturday and Sundays.

And the paintings began to add up.

Taking the leap: from hobby to business

My friend, Tenny, encouraged me to sell them. So I added an Art Shop to my website and offered the original paintings as well as affordable prints and you know what?

A few days later I sold my first Art Print and a week later I sold my first Painting! If you didn’t catch it on Facebook, here’s me doing a happy dance…

All this happened because I began painting “a little bit everyday” and stuck with it, not just for 30 days but I’m still doing it 76 days later 🎨🎨🎨.

This is a summary of the timeline so far:

• February 25: Started my goal to paint a little bit everyday for 30 days.

• April 27 – Added a shop to my website of my original paintings as well as art prints.

• May 1 Sold my first art print, Mountain Lion Woman. (5/4 and 5/7 sold two more art prints).

• May 6 Paid for a Facebook boost of Butterfly Woman for $20.

• May 7 Sold my first painting, Butterfly Woman (Art prints available), to a wonderful lady in Salt Lake City, Utah.

To sum it up, “a little bit everyday” in just two and half months has resulted in 12 completed paintings, one painting and three art prints sold, and a budding new side venture as a fine artist!/’[;p.’

Key takeaways from the journey

1. Doing something “a little bit everyday” adds up. It may not feel like I’m doing much, when I paint one small section of a painting for twenty minutes or base coat a new canvas for fifteen minutes, but these small actions accumulate and add up over time. In fact, I’m discovering I can create a whole body of work just doing a little everyday.

2. Doing “a little bit everyday” creates momentum. Once I got going, the action of painting everyday created a motivation to keep painting. What they say is true “action precedes motivation”, at least for me anyway.

3. No other structure was needed, only the promise to myself to paint a little bit everyday. I didn’t make myself paint at a particular time of day or for a particular length of time. I told myself, you just have to paint for a little bit — every day. I did, and I still am.

4. I found I was happier and more contented with my life overall, even during COVID! Painting a little bit here and there ended up creating pockets of joy throughout my day that greatly balanced out all the crazy stuff going on out there with COVID.

5. Doing “a little bit everyday” gave birth to a whole new endeavor and something I’m really proud of it.

Your turn: what’s your “a little bit everyday”?

What started as a simple 30-day challenge to paint “a little bit every day” has blossomed into something far greater than I could have imagined. This daily practice not only honed my artistic skills but also transformed my perspective on life and creativity. The seemingly small act of dedicating time each day to my craft opened doors to new opportunities, connections, and personal growth.

This experience has taught me the power of consistency and the magic that unfolds when we commit to nurturing our passions, even in small doses. Whether it’s painting, writing, scuor learning a new skill, doing “a little bit every day” can indeed change your life in ways you never expected. So, I encourage you to find your own “little bit” and embrace the journey it takes you on. You never know where it might lead!