Cassandra The Joyful Artist

12/06/2026

gotta love this Kiwi

12/06/2026

So much wisdom, so much grace and beauty in her words

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08/06/2026

MORE JOY.

For a long time, I thought great art had to be serious.

Heavy.
Meaningful.
Profound.

Lately, the jungle has been teaching me something different.

Laurie keeps bringing home armfuls of wild flowers—bougainvillea, heliconias, passion flowers—and every one of them seems to be shouting the same thing:

“Look at me!”

Not in an ego way.

In a joyful way.

A celebration of color.
A celebration of being alive.

This little painting began with a handful of flowers on my studio table and became an exploration of translucency, light, and delight. Layer upon layer of luminous pinks, corals, oranges, and greens dancing together like tropical confetti.

Perhaps joy is not something we find.

Perhaps joy is something we notice.

The flowers already knew.

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08/06/2026

Find Joy in Everything

Not because everything is joyful.

Not because life is always easy.

Not because every circumstance deserves celebration.

But because joy is a way of seeing.

It is noticing the rain on jungle leaves in Panama while the world rushes past.

It is finding beauty in a passionflower so unusual that your friend texts, “Aren’t they bonkers?”

It is the first sip of coffee after a morning swim.

The satisfaction of a single paragraph written.

The scent of paint.

The call of a bird.

The comfort of a loyal dog curled at your feet.

Joy does not require perfection.

It does not wait until the book is finished, the painting is sold, the visa is sorted, the house is sold, or the future is certain.

Joy lives in this moment.

Right here.

Right now.

A butterfly crossing your path.

A flower opening.

A memory of your grandfather teaching you to look closely at a stone and discover an entire world hidden inside it.

Joy is not the absence of difficulty.

It is the refusal to let difficulty have the final word.

The artist finds joy in color.

The gardener finds joy in growth.

The writer finds joy in possibility.

The swimmer finds joy in cool water.

The child finds joy in wonder.

And perhaps the secret is that joy is not something we find at all.

It is something we practice.

A way of meeting the world.

A decision to notice what is beautiful, what is kind, what is hopeful, what is alive.

Today, I choose to find joy in everything.

In progress rather than perfection.

In possibility rather than certainty.

In the journey rather than the destination.

Because a joyful life is not built from extraordinary moments alone.

It is built from thousands of tiny moments of appreciation, gathered together like wildflowers, until one day you look around and realize you have created a garden.

06/06/2026

Sleeping with nature.

One of the unexpected joys of living in Panama is waking up immersed in green.

The jungle has a way of slowing everything down. The light shifts through the leaves, the birds provide the soundtrack, and suddenly the things that seemed urgent no longer feel quite so important.

As I looked at this mock-up of one of my paintings, Cathedral of Light overlooking the jungle canopy, I realized that this is what I am always trying to paint—not just trees or leaves, but that feeling of being held by nature.

A reminder that beauty still exists.
A reminder to breathe.
A reminder to look up.

Perhaps that is why collectors tell me my paintings bring a sense of calm into their homes. They are windows into wonder.

If you could wake up looking at one painting every morning, what feeling would you want it to give you?

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05/06/2026

Tiny details from Cathedral of Light

I created Cathedral of Light during a period of profound gratitude and wonder. Living in Panama, I found myself repeatedly looking upward—through jungle canopies, through tropical foliage, through shafts of light filtering between leaves—and feeling as though I was standing inside a natural cathedral.

The inspiration was deepened by my fascination with Leonardo da Vinci’s extraordinary canopy fresco in Milan, where he transformed a castle chamber into a living arbor open to the sky. What captivated me was not simply the trees themselves, but the feeling of standing beneath them and becoming part of something larger than myself.

As I painted, I wasn’t trying to depict a particular place. I wanted to capture an experience—the sensation of being immersed in nature, surrounded by beauty, and reminded that the world is still filled with wonder. Layer upon layer of greens, golds, and luminous passages emerged, creating a canopy through which light could flow and dance.

The title Cathedral of Light reflects my belief that nature is one of the most sacred spaces we can enter. The branches become arches. The leaves become stained glass. The light becomes a form of prayer.
I am also drawn to the ancient symbolism of the World Tree, the timeless idea that heaven and earth are connected through the living world. Hidden within the painting is my own reverence for the divine feminine, for creation, growth, beauty, and renewal. The floating white forms may be read as petals, butterflies, blossoms, or fragments of light—small reminders that grace often appears in unexpected ways.
For me, this painting is ultimately about trust. Trusting the light. Trusting nature. Trusting that beauty still exists, even in challenging times.
It is an invitation to pause, to look upward, and to remember that we are part of something far greater than ourselves.

This painting is part of my Where Water Holds The Light Series, inspired by the beauty of Panama

04/06/2026

Laurie came home from the jungle today carrying these wild heliconias and bougainvillea, and suddenly my color palette made perfect sense.

Fiery oranges. Electric pinks. Luminous greens.

Nature is the greatest artist of all.

I’ve been working on a new series called Garden of Delight, part of my ongoing Where Water Holds the Light collection, and these flowers feel like a glimpse into the heart of it. A reminder that beauty doesn’t have to be earned, fixed, or rescued—it simply blooms.

Needless to say, I can feel a whole new collection of paintings coming on… 🌺✨

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