Someone asked me over coffee recently what I considered the most valuable lesson I learned on my travels.
Without hesitation I told him the most important thing I learned was that the fact that, no matter what happens, there is ALWAYS seems to be hope.
On the way home from coffee, I turned on the radio and every channel I listened to was negative. I heard about…
One political party bashing another.
One religion bashing another.
One celebrity bashing another.
Sports fans bashing opposition teams.
DJ’s laughing about someone’s misfortunes.
I read a few articles on the Internet that day and the comments under the articles sent a shiver down my spine. Most comments under any article were downright horrible.
I read about…
People being so rude and hurtful without shame.
People viciously putting others down.
People making vile racist comments.
People drooling with hatred for everything and anything they don’t agree with. Like the putrid comments under You Tube videos. (How can people get so worked up and nasty about whether the Eagles are a better band than the Doobie Brothers or Metallica better than Iron Maiden? If the people who post those comments spent all the time and energy they do hating each other and volunteered instead, the world would be a better place.)
I turned on the TV after that and saw footage from the various terrorist attacks around the world.
I saw people being stoned because they had been the victim of rape.
I just couldn’t stand it!
So, I turned off the media and went to the Children’s Hospital close to where I live and visited some kids with cancer.
And I SMILED because I saw…
Families supporting each other.
Kids making every moment that they’re alive, COUNT.
A child with cancer comforting another child who was throwing up from her chemo.
A bald kid moon-walking down the hallway singing, “I’m bad, I’m bad,” at the top of his voice!
Two teens with cancer, who are dating, swooning, loving on each other and planning their future because instead of saying 20 percent of kids with cancer don’t survive they are saying 80 percent of kids with cancer DO survive!
Make no mistake. At the hospital I saw a lot of pain and suffering, but unlike what I saw, heard and read in the media, in the Cancer ward, more than anything, I saw…
Hope.

An open letter to my incredible, new, creative mentor.
Dear Ivy –
You may be six years old but the other night you taught me more about creativity in two hours than I learned the entire time I was at school.

You taught me that…

The sun does not have to be in the top left or right hand corner of a picture. It can be on the bottom if you’re looking at it reflected in water.

Guacamole is a great substitute for green paint and it spreads rather nicely.

A regular old HB pencil can last for hours and hours and doesn’t need a battery or recharging.

Every restaurant has sheets of white paper in the office if you just ask with a big smile.

If there is an obstacle in your way, such as a glass of water, just draw around it and incorporate it into your picture.
People look at cell phones more than they look at original art.

A drawing of a cat can be turned into a drawing of a dog if you use a pen to…fluff up it’s hair, mess with its ears, pop in a couple of teeth, add a collar, and add a wagging tail.

You can explain what your art represents by saying, “Look at me,” to the viewer to get their full attention while you discuss your work.

You don’t need expensive markers, pens or paints to make a powerful, moving, artistic statement.

Beauty is in the eye of the pencil holder.

If the picture you’re making isn’t working, throw it over your shoulder and start again even if you’re in a restaurant.

A heart does not necessarily have to have a perfect ‘heart’ shape. It still means love.

You don’t have to sign your name in the bottom left or right corner of your picture. Slap bang in the middle is perfectly fine.

A paper airplane can fly backwards if you throw it hard enough. (We made and decorated a paper plane and I was trying to show you how to throw it but you told me I was wrong and you insisted on throwing it backwards. You were right. You threw the plane into the air. It arced up backwards and then gently eased forward gliding comfortably past a number of tables and almost flew into the kitchen.)

You also made me realize that It is possible to illustrate a portrait on a plain ol’ white napkin.
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Can’t wait for my next lesson.

Love you.
Trevor

One thing I have learned from my author and artist friend Danny Gregory is that every day matters. In fact his best-selling book, ‘Everyday Matters’ is one of the only books I’ve ever read multiple times.
In his book Danny talks about how he began to view every day differently after his wife Patti became a paraplegic after fainting and being hit by a train in a New York subway station. Their son, Jack, was only ten months old at the time.
During Patti’s rehabilitation, Danny began to record the things he saw around him in a journal. He drew everything he laid his eyes on, even his breakfast. That journal eventually became an incredible book and a blog phenomenon.
Patti was my mentor. I e-mailed her stories and every picture I ever drew or photographed. Her feedback and encouragement was so inspiring and comforting. Both Patti and Danny taught me how to actually see the things I was looking at.
Sadly sweet Patti died a few years ago, about eight years after her accident. I miss her every time I capture something I’d like to share with her.
This morning was no different.
I was sorting through some photographs (included in this post) that I have taken since her passing, mostly with my iPhone. I decided to post them for Patti just in case there are some artsy angels hanging around my place.
If so, I hope they will alert her to my post because I know she’s probably extremely busy doing wonderful things out there in the universe.
Patti collected friends for a hobby and I’m so glad, and grateful, that she collected me while she was here.