The Joy of Venice Watercolour

A Venice watercolor, work in progress, Palazzo Ducale, copyright © Sophia Khan

May the year 2020 be one of immense joy and abundance for you. May it be a year of gratitude and unending reasons for more and more gratitude each moment, every day ahead. May it bring you gifts beyond what you dream of. May the spirit of love and warmth, friends, family, and community surround you. May this ripple in beautiful waves to all those we know, all those we encounter along our paths, and may this lead to more pathways to love, acceptance, togetherness, healing, and bliss throughout our world.

May we all remember and cherish the gift of life, and remember the gift of being here on this Earth. May we remember to see not only ourselves as luminous but one another as such.

I thank you, dearly for opening your inbox to my art, travels, and creative diary. It brings me immense joy to share these with you.

The new year is often a time of reflection for me on the year that past and the one that will come ahead.

This past year I had the pleasure of exploring a few new creative avenues. They are all distinct from one another, but they all come together to enhance and bring new life and creative energy to almost anything I do.

Many people say that when we do the things we love, we lose track of time. I believe this to be true. I find there is also an element of losing 'self.' I believe in having a muse. What that is, is not for me to know or even inquire. But I do know that my best work comes when I stop thinking, stop analyzing....simple stop being as I am in the world, and allow for a space, an opening through which inspiration arrives. At the same time, the muse works with our inherent and unique gifts, so it is deeply rooted in who we are as individuals. Perhaps then, the creative act it is a sort of meditation. One is which we do lose 'self' but are 'found' again with this muse, through the very things we make, be it a painting, a sculpture, a song, a poem or other. The creative life is something I am deeply grateful for and hope to always nurture. If you are also a creative in some way, I would be curious to hear your thoughts and what your experience around this may be, if you might like to share.

One of my new creative explorations is the joy of learning to play an instrument, which I look forward to continuing this year. In my art practice, I have three new watercolor series that I would like to paint, along with some studies I am doing in my watercolor journal around John Ruskin's Stones of Venice. I look forward to sharing this new art with you.

I love the idea of new. But I also love remembering the best of the past, and allowing that to guide the new. I have a lot of tools/exercises that I enjoy using around this time of year to allow myself to do this. If these might interest you, simply reply to this message and I can happily share.

I look forward to each moment ahead and to the creative possibilities that are stirring in my studio. I hope that whatever brings you the most joy, you are able to embrace even more of in 2020. And may this joy continue to bring an abundance of gifts into your world, for you and those around you.

Until next time, wishing you my very best, and a most beautiful and wonder filled start to this new year.

If you enjoyed reading this, I would love to send you my thoughtful and occasional art letters: