Hold On Collection

My first artist collection is the Hold On collection; a set of 10 mixed media paintings designed to bring hope, encouragement and inspiration when it is needed. I found myself in a season of life where I needed words of encouragement regularly, and things that had once felt cheesy or cliché, were now things I clung on to. I wanted to share some of the phrases that have encouraged me, through the collection of paintings and also the accompanying written words. I hope and pray that others find encouragement in them, and enjoy their beauty.
​All artwork and words are mine.

Prints of the Hold On Collection can be purchased in my Etsy shop.
Hold On To Hope

Hold on.
This sucks, I know.
It's hard, and it hurts.
But hold on.
Hold on for the possibility of peace.
Hold on for the promise of rest.
Hold on to love, and life, and the birds singing in the trees.
Hold on to your beautiful smile.
​Hold tight to those who hold on to you.
Hold on to hope.
It's OK

It is ok to not be ok.
It is ok to feel your feelings.
It is ok to be yourself.
It is ok to change your mind, to take a risk, to play it safe.
It is ok to fail and try again. 
It will be ok and you are not alone.
​It's ok.
Begin Again

You don't have to stay where you are.
You don't have to push through the pain.
You don't need to feel stuck.
It is never too late to start.
It is never too late to learn something new.
To try something new.
To be who you really are.
You are allowed to change direction.
​You are allowed to begin again.
Grow. Bloom.

Little tree, I’m certain you will grow.
You are not stuck, you are not finished, you are waiting.
Waiting to break out of the darkness, break through the surface and towards the light.
Growing isn’t easy, sometimes it hurts.
But let the light pull you forwards, reaching for all that could be.
Strength and hope are waiting for you, as you grow and change and bloom.
You are so beautiful
Just Breathe

Don't hold it in.
Let it out, and keep going.
When the space feels tight, and noise so loud, just breathe.
Each breath a moment of calm.
As your mind slows and your heart settles.
As the wind rattles through the leaves, let your breathe blow the distractions away.
Just breathe, and keep going.



​
Have Courage

​I've always been afraid.
Of the dark, spiders, loneliness, pain.
Afraid of the monsters, real and imaginary.
Afraid of being myself.
Afraid of being afraid. 
If I step too far into it, I stumble. I fall.
But I hear a voice through the fog, a voice guiding me back.
Have courage little one, I am here.
​Have courage.
You Have Time

Slow down, my love.
Why the rush?
You can't fix it today.
This grief will not be ignored.
The path you're desperately chasing brings you right back to the start.
You have time to find a new route. To sniff the flowers and feel the sun.
To listen and weep and change.
To feel it all, for as long as it takes.
You have time, my love.
​Speak Life

Speak life.
Speak truth.
Hold out a hand to those hurting, to those afraid, to those you don't understand.
Please.
Let your heart overflow with beauty and peace.​
I know, our hearts are broken too.
Cracked and broken and leaking. 
So please. Please let whatever leaks from your broken heart bring life to others.
Like flowers growing in your path.
There's Still So Much More

I sit alone, looking through the window of my life.
It seems so small, so unimportant.
There’s not much to see, not much to me.
I don’t want to be small, or cold, or alone.
So I stretch out, gently pull back the edge of the curtain.
My eyes welcome the light and the colour that bursts in, as I see how much more there is.
​So much of my heart that I hadn’t known before.
So much beauty, life and hope.
And as the light spills in, I find I was never alone.
I just couldn’t see.
You sit beside me, watching and whispering your love.
One Chapter At A Time

Open the book. 
Start at page one.
Let the words fill your eyes, and your thoughts and your dreams. See your life written out in the pages.
Read on my friend, but don't look ahead.
Don't wish the story away as you rush to the conclusion.
Your tale is beautiful, and complicated, and slow. 
Focus on this chapter right here and now.
Take your time. Don't miss this  moment. One chapter at a time.