Bicycling Kitties & Making Art With Personal Meaning

Sometimes we make art that looks light and fun, yet it actually came from a deep place of meaning for us. This illustration I did a few years ago is a good example of that. 

I had read a book by Dr Phil McGraw, The Ultimate Weight Solution. What he wrote resonated with me, and helped me make many changes in my life. One thing it did was to help me see that I really WAS responsible for my own choices, and had the power to be the captain of my own life. 

Dr Phil has a good-ol-boy Texas way of talking and writing... very colorful, lots of word pictures. And as I read, I started imagining illustrations to go with the book. Alas... this is the only one I actually made. The original was done with ink and watercolors.

(can click to enlarge)

Did you notice that I've since 

dropped the "kat" from Retta? :-)

I appreciated the truth in the quote underneath the cat: 

"When you begin to see that your particular weight struggles may have little to do with anything outside yourself, your power to change is enormous... Start recognizing that you actively influence positive events in your life. Start pedaling on your own personal power."

The truth in those sentences apply not only to health, but to my art as well. I am pursuing my dreams... pedaling on my own personal power. And that DOES feel empowering!

Here cropped out the image of the cat in Photoshop, squaring the edges with the clone tool. I plan to include it in my future Zazzle shop, for use in cards or posters or whatever people would like to use it for.

Happy meaningful painting,

Retta