Creating Moments Studio with Alissa Saunders

WorldWatercolorMonth Day 9: Delphinium are one of the July birth flowers

WorldWatercolorMonth Day 7

For World Watercolor Month, I will be trying to record and share my warm up sketches. This is day 3: over the next few days, I’ll be painting ingredients from a yummy summer salad. The first one: mint

Taking time to notice the beautiful flowers blooming on my grandmother’s peony, transplanted after she passed. Making moments to create art, the breathe and to pause in between the last days of school, the last dance recitals and the start of summer.

5.25.25 Irises are one of my favorite flowers. I saw these while on a walk with my sister. Brush pen and watercolor.

5.22.25 Lots to reflect on today.

Happy National Drawing Day!

Spring moments

Spring is in full bloom! One little sprig can lead to so much inspiration!

An interesting meditation this morning in the Daily Stoic, making connections between stoic philosophy and the writings of Musashi, specifically Musashi’s distinction between the ‘perceiving eye’ and the ‘observing eye.’
This coincides with my own recent work with sumi-e brushes and my brush pen.

Painting bright blooms on a grey day

Taking time to notice and making a moment to create… in between picking up, dropping off and driving the kids around tonight. Sometimes it helps to have inspiration ready for when these little ‘moments’ arise … so glad I picked up these beautiful tulips at the market the other day!

April has arrived and with it, signs of spring. Sweet pea are one of the flowers of April. This card is in the mail, but you can learn more about sweet pea, my current creative projects or get a bit of inspiration, by signing up for my newsletter.

creating-moments-studio.kit.com/75c8af6d4b?f...

Ready for spring
#creatingMomentsStudio

Signs of spring! I am working on illustrating all the birth month flowers, but did not have my own reference photo for snowdrops until I saw a beautiful cluster of snowdrops yesterday.

“Taking time to notice and making moments to create”
What are you noticing around you?
#CreatingMomentsStudio

The Creating Moments Studio March Newsletter went out this morning! While the temperatures this morning are still quite chilly and the wind is blowing outside, there are a few early signs of spring. I am enjoying having a few daffodils (from the store) to brighten up my kitchen.

The Creating Moments Studio Newsletter comes out on March 7th. If you want to sign up: creating-moments-studio.kit.com/75c8af6d4b?f...

Getting ready for spring!

Daffodils are one of the flowers of March and a beautifully bright sign of spring. Here in New England, winter is not over, but the days are getting longer and brighter and there are signs of spring all around. What are you noticing around you?
#creatingMomentsStudio, #lineandwash #watercolorflowers

1/31: ”Proper human work consists in: acts of kindness to other human beings…”-Marcus Aurelius

1/30 Daily Stoic (5/31): We have but one obligation: “What is your vocation? To be a good person.” -Marcus Aurelius

1/29: A few thought from Seneca on experiencing loss: “Tears fall no matter how we try to hold them back, and shedding them relieves the mind.” -Seneca
“Don’t complain about what was taken away, but give thanks for what you were given.” -Seneca

1:28: The Daily Stoic: Watching the Wise: “Take a good hard look at people’s ruling principle, especially of the wise, what they run away from and what they seek out” -Marcus Aurelius

1/27: Thoughts from Seneca: “I am aiming to live each day as if it is a complete lifetime.” -Seneca
“The goodness of life does not depend on life’s length but upon the use we make of it” -Seneca

Thoughts from Seneca on life and the inevitableness of death from ‘Breakfast with Seneca:
“How long I live is not up to me, but how I live is within my control.” -Seneca
“To live a long life, you need Fate; but to live well depends on your character.”
-Seneca

1/25: “Virtues are formed in man by his doing the actions,” -Aristotle.
Interpreted by philosopher Will Durant as “We are what we repeatedly do… therefore excellence is not an act, but a habit”.

1/24: The Daily Stoic: ‘Push for Deep Understanding:’ “…I learned to read carefully and not be satisfied with a rough understanding of the whole…” -Marcus Aurelius

1/23: “Wherever there is a human being, there is an opportunity for a kindness.” —Lucius Annaeus Seneca.

1/22: The Daily Stoic: “I will keep constant watch over myself and -most usefully -will put each day up for review.”

1/22: The Daily Stoic: “I will keep constant watch over myself and -most usefully -will put each day up for review.”