After seeing James’s post with nature pictures from Thomas Meyer, I was inspired to share a few images from a book that seems to catch my eye whenever I walk past the art books in Tricycle’s library: True Nature: An Illustrated Journal of Four Seasons in Solitude by Barbara Bash. An accomplished calligrapher, illustrator and teacher in addition to being a longtime practicing Tibetan Buddhist, Bash created the artwork for this book from sketchbooks she filled during solitary retreats. When I was little I believed vehemently that you either had art skills or you didn’t. This isn’t the case. Art, like anything else, is all about practice, and besides, it should be about the process rather than the final product. Try sitting with paint and paper or whatever your media of choice and observing. I am positive you can create something beautiful. Barbara Bash’s website can be found here. Her visual blog, based on the book True Nature, can be found here.