Dear friend,

What do you think of when you think of the word "courageous"? As a kid, I tended to think of Peter Pevensie when he stands before the White Witch in battle and chooses to stand his ground and fight even though he is outmatched in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.

Now, I tend to think of something a little less dramatic, but no less strong. Now, I think of people who stand up to bullies. I think of people who are meek (definition of meek: strength under control). I think of people who try new things. I think of people who are trying to learn, people who want to grow, people who are not content with their current skill level or maturity level, no matter their age.

I think of people who do not compromise or change themselves to be more well-liked, but instead pursue the fruits of the Spirit and try to live out their faith.

While these things are not as dramatic, obvious, or life-threatening as Peter standing up to the White Witch, they are just as full of courage.

There's a huge trap we fall into when we think we know everything, we've totally mastered a skill, or we no longer need to grow as a person.

Yet growth is not immediate. It's not like putting on a fresh outfit, and boom, you're done getting dressed. It's more like digging a miles-long trench. It's a daily slow progress thing.

I want to have courage. I want to be a lifelong learner and grower.

And some days, I get frustrated that I'm not at a much higher level of maturity. But then I look back and see how much I've grown, and see that I'm able to tackle challenges now that I couldn't even dream of months ago.

That's part of growing, I think. Pushing to the limits of our abilities, failing, building smaller skills, and re-trying.

This painting is an example of this. Months ago, I pushed to the limits of my painting ability, just sure that if I tried hard enough, I could create a lifelike painting of a woman and the ocean. I failed miserably. I fought with that painting for days.

Finally, I set it aside, resigned to the fact that I wasn't at the skill level needed for that depth, detail, and complexity of a subject yet. So I practiced those skills.

I practiced improving depth, understanding color mixing and shadows, and increasing the complexity I was able to create on the page.

And now, I'm working on the most detailed, complex painting I've yet painted. It's outside of my comfort zone. I'm using mainly oil paints, which is a bit scarier a medium to work with, as it is less forgiving, and the great artists like Monet, Van Gogh, and Davinci all used oil paints. It's a bit scary to use the medium of so many Master Painters.

This painting is focused on sea creatures, and not flowers, which I normally paint. In fact, it doesn't have a single flower in it. (Though, of course, I could argue that coral is the flower of the ocean, and starfish, which will be in my painting soon too, are the butterflies of the ocean.)

And unlike the first time I pushed to the limits, I feel more prepared. I know what steps I need to take, and that I need to be patient with it. I still feel challenged, and like this is not an easy painting, but I also feel excited.

I can't wait to see what it becomes, but more so, what I learn from pushing myself to the limits again.

~Isabel Grace

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P.S. Next week I'm revealing something exciting, so stay tuned!!! Also, there are some new 5x7" original sketches available on my website, which you can check out HERE. These are one-of-a-kind originals, so there's only 1 of each!