RGW Inspiration: Words and Images

The Artist Inside Technique is how you remove the body's obstructions to the heart's expression. The myth of "talent". I have often had people, when I tell them I am an artist, look at me with a sort of awestruck reverence––that is completely misplaced. Everyone is an artist inside. Some have just worked at it harder than others and it shows. There isn't a single thing that I do that cannot be learned, practiced and achieved to great success by anyone (barring physical limitations). So, if you have ever told yourself that you have no talent, or that you could never be as good as someone else you admire, let's just call a halt to that kind of thinking right now. I can guarantee that, if you still believe that others have some god-given gift that you don't have, you will never be an artist. But, it is the only thing that will stand in your way. 90% of the deterrent that is keeping you from being the artist you wish to be is your consideration that you cann...

The World Is My Teacher   All of the knowledge to be found in this world was originally empirical.  It did not come from a book or a teacher; someone figured it out based on observation. True, it is often faster to have someone show you how to do something, but to move into an area on your own and teach yourself based on your own observation, that is where creativity is born -- the ability to reach beyond the observations of others.  This gives you the ability to see something that no one else has seen before.   ––––– Love posting to themes? You might enjoy these great themes with excellent curators! Themes and hashtags are not necessarily about getting more attention, but are a valuable indexing method, which help others find relevant posts via clickable links as well as a great way to meet like-minded people. I tend to only promote those themes with active, caring curators. #ThirstyThursdayPics with thanks to  Giuseppe Basile & Mark Esguerra #thirstythursday #CoastalThursday wi...

Stand Up For Yourself You teach people how to treat you by what you allow, what you stop, and what you reinforce. ~ Tony Gaskins I found an interesting article this morning on how to stand up for yourself. The basics: 1. Be prepared. If you know you’re going to have to make a case for yourself, make sure you know what you’re talking about.  2. Baby steps. Try out your tactics in low-risk situations to start — like asking for more time on a project or taking a couple of tasks off your plate.  3. Change your perception of being nice. Being a nice person doesn’t mean you have to say yes to everything –– it’s ok to put your foot down — you’ll still be nice.  4. Practice quiet power. Continue to listen and show your appreciation for people even when you are standing up for yourself. You do not have to raise your voice.  5. Be honest. Getting what you need and want to succeed comes from the heart. Skip telling people what you think they want to hear and be real.  - See more at: http://www.lo...

Revealing Your Vision Do you have a vision for your life? What is it? Do you actually know? What is "vision"––you know, when we're not talking about something which might involve your optometrist? The definition of "vision" I'm talking about is: "The ability to visualize, think about or plan the future." So, back to: Do you know what your vision is? If you don't, I can at least tell you what your vision was yesterday, a month ago, a year ago. Ready? You're sitting in it right now. Yep, that's right. The course, direction, circumstance of your life, as it is right this very minute, is the vision you've been working on. It's the one you've been holding in your mind and it's manifesting itself today. Do you want to change that? Here's the how-to.  First, think about what you want to have or do. Next, write out a list with those aspirations on it leaving enough space on the side of each to write the obstacles preventing ...

Overcoming Your Fear Firstly, I'm going to offer up a host of platitudes: “One does not discover new lands without consenting to lose sight of the shore for a very long time.” ~Andre Gide “Do one thing every day that scares you.” ~Eleanor Roosevelt “No man ever achieved worth-while success who did not, at one time or another, find himself with at least one foot hanging well over the brink of failure.” ~Napoleon Hill “He who is not everyday conquering some fear has not learned the secret of life.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson "Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy." ~Dale Carnegie Actually, that last one is my real springboard ... ;o7 Here's the key to overcoming fear: DO! Fear isn't actually supposed to be the crippling emotion we allow it to be.  It's a driving force.  It's an energy source to be capitalized on! If you're feeling fearful about...

"That Brighter Day"   The changes you are looking for in your life will come about when you spend more time focusing on the things you want to have happen than the things you are worrying could happen.   ––––– #TreeTuesday #BreakfastClub  #10000photographersaroundtheworld  #promotephotography with  #TheMagicOfLight #LandscapePhotography #rgwoodpost #canonphotography #canonphotographer #digitalphotography #naturephotography #inspiration #color #colors #fineart #fineartpls #landscapeart #light ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ Please feel free to ask me, if you would like any of my images  available for print at robingriggswood.com

"Keep Your Eye On the Sparrow" Your goals can become small, seemingly insignificant or lost amidst the cannonade of complications and streams of setbacks. Even enjoyable experiences can throw you off track (there's a reason they call them "diversions" … ;o)). "Keep your eye on the sparrow" means to maintain your focus on your target. That is the only way to realize your aspirations and it is the primary agent in every success story. Wishing you success in all you hope for!  …………. ––––– Love posting to themes? You might enjoy these great themes with excellent curators! Themes and hashtags are not necessarily about getting more attention, but are a valuable indexing method, which help others find relevant posts via clickable links as well as a great way to meet like-minded people. I tend to only promote those themes with active, caring curators. #WildlifeWednesday with thanks to Mike Spinak & Morkel Erasmus #BreakfastClub with huge thanks to Gemma ...

––– Wallpaper, WALLPAPER! The other day, I found one of my paintings ( http://goo.gl/3STnp ) strewn around the Web on "free wallpaper" sites. They had gotten it off "CGSociety" (notorious for having works stolen from), cropped my signature off the bottom and ran it through a pixel bending program, stripping my copyright and generally uglifying it. Some even had the audacity to plop their copyright logo over mine. Not that this is anything new. What did I do? I was reminded on something a girlfriend, one of the great teachers in my own life, said to me one day, "When you make something, give it away … then you'll just have to make more." When you start to think of the works that you do as too important or significant you start to lose objectivity––the one thing you need for honing skills.  Make something, give it away, throw it away, burn it or just do it again.  Make it unimportant and you lose the stress and pressure -- those are the top two creativit...

Open to the Potential ––– Life: 10% is circumstance. The other 90% is your reaction to it, your attitude and what you decide to do with it  …………. ––––– #FloralFriday with thanks to Tamara Pruessner #BreakfastClub with huge thanks to Gemma Costa and Breakfast Club 10000 PHOTOGRAPHERS / #10000photographersaroundtheworld  with thanks to Robert SKREINER and Nikola Nikolski #hqspmacro with thanks to Vinod Krishnamoorthy Rinus Bakker Vishal Kumar and HQSP Macro #hqspflowers with thanks to HQSP Flowers Marina Versaci Carina Marsh Larry Henley and Werner Polwein Macro4All   #Macro4All with thanks toWalter Soestbergen and Shane Williams #rgwoodpost #naturephotography NATURE PHOTOGRAPHY #colors   #inspiration #canonphotography #canonphotographer #macrophotography #flowerphotography #floralphotography #TGIF

"The greatest good you can do for another is not just to share your riches but to reveal to him his own." ~ Benjamin Disraeli  Why I mentor others here at G+: A while back, I was searching for my purpose in life. At the time, I was mentoring at an online art community. Over and over again, I would get comments from people such as, "I would love to be an artist, but I have no talent"; "I wish I were gifted, but clearly I wasn't meant to be an artist"… and there was real sadness and disappointment in their commentary. But I knew the truth, that where I started from gave no indication of "talent" in my early years, and that what I had gone through showed me clearly that art was an inherent part of our nature as human beings. Yet this concept was lost in current society and wasn't being nurtured.  There is a lie being perpetuated in society that I call the "myth of talent". The Myth of Talent I have often had people, when I tell t...

L ♡ V E ––– Definition:  *When someone else's happiness means more to you than your own.* … happy Valentine's Day.  …………. ––––– #BreakfastClub  #10000photographersaroundtheworld  #hqspart  #rgwoodpost #inspiration #ValentinesDay2013 #ValentinesDay #love #wedding #weddingphotography

Are you an artist? ––– If you are a photographer and you've ever wondered if you are an artist, I offer you this from Ansel Adams: "Photography is more than a medium for factual communication of ideas. It is a creative art."   Sure, there are photographers that only document what is in front of their lens, and you may well be one of those. So how can you tell if you are an artist? This is what I tell my students:  You are an artist if you wish to create something with your media which communicates more than its component parts.   Now, you become a remarkable artist when you become fluent in the language of how to communicate with the tools of art and move past merely documenting what is in front of your lens.  An artist will use these tools to show us what we have never seen before.   The best artists will show us what we never could have imagined.  This is the stuff that makes your jaw drop, makes you stop in your tracks and makes you say, "Wow!"  I am still a...

––– Show a Little Kindness ––– A rare verbal image post from me, but I've been encountering so many folks lately that have been using less than favorable words to describe themselves, it had to be said … and loudly. You are the best friend that you have, and you deserve the kindness you bestow upon others.  …………. ––––– #FloralFriday with thanks to Tamara Pruessner #BreakfastClub with huge thanks to Gemma Costa and Breakfast Club 10000 PHOTOGRAPHERS around the World / #10000photographersaroundtheworld  with thanks to Robert SKREINER Macro4All     #rgwoodpost #naturephotography #inspiration #macrophotography #flowerphotography #floralphotography #waterdropsphotography #waterdrop ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ Please feel free to ask me, if you would like this image available for print at robingriggswood.smugmug.com ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀

A Full Heart ––– A heart doesn't actually break … ever. It only feels like it. To obviate the pain one can feel from a broken heart, it is only necessary to fill it with so much love, that when some of it goes, you don't feel like it is everything. This year, resolve to love more … that has always been the best way to fill a heart.  …………. ––––– #FloralFriday with thanks to Tamara Pruessner #BreakfastClub with huge thanks to dear Gemma Costa and Breakfast Club 10000 PHOTOGRAPHERS / #10000photographersaroundtheworld  with thanks to Robert SKREINER   #rgwoodpost #truth #inspiration #naturephotography #macrophotography #macro4all #flowerphotography #floralphotography