Wisdom Wednesdays: Live Art Sessions
Drawings in real time. A little wisdom along the way.
What happens when you slow down, pick up a piece of pastel, and simply look?
Wisdom Wednesdays is a weekly live art series from Jackie Morreale, host of Wisdom for Wannabes, launched August 26, 2026.
Each week, I draw something that inspires me—from nature and meaningful memories to the simple beauty of everyday life. Follow along as I experiment with colors, make mistakes, change my mind, and discover where the creative process leads.
The goal isn't perfect art. It's the process.
Whether you're an experienced artist or just starting out, I hope you'll slow down, look closely, and create something simply because it makes you happy.
Because art, like life, doesn't always have one right way. It's our world. We get to decide what we create in it.
🎨 Join me for Wisdom Wednesday Live Art Sessions, where creativity meets personal reflection and a little wisdom along the way.
Wisdom Wednesdays is a weekly live art series from Jackie Morreale, host of Wisdom for Wannabes, launched August 26, 2026.
Each week, I draw something that inspires me—from nature and meaningful memories to the simple beauty of everyday life. Follow along as I experiment with colors, make mistakes, change my mind, and discover where the creative process leads.
The goal isn't perfect art. It's the process.
Whether you're an experienced artist or just starting out, I hope you'll slow down, look closely, and create something simply because it makes you happy.
Because art, like life, doesn't always have one right way. It's our world. We get to decide what we create in it.
🎨 Join me for Wisdom Wednesday Live Art Sessions, where creativity meets personal reflection and a little wisdom along the way.
Wisdom Wednesday Live Art 7: Book-Inspired Pumpkins, Apple Cider, Spooky Sunset
Published October 7, 2026
🍎🎃🌅 From autumn pumpkins to a darkening forest: follow your inspiration, embrace imperfection, and keep going through it.
For Wisdom Wednesday Live Art #7, I explored the colors and spirit of fall through three soft pastel drawings: Halloween pumpkins, an apple-cinnamon-inspired still life, and a sunset landscape that gradually became a dark, mysterious forest.
I started with pumpkins, experimenting with shapes, shadows, and expressive details. Next came a cozy apple cinnamon still life, complete with apples and a red mug. Finally, I revisited a beautiful sunset photograph from one of my favorite Palm Beach County parks, transforming the glowing sky and grassy landscape into a darker forest scene.
That last drawing carried a special connection to my grandfather, whose Autumn Tree in a Field acrylic painting on a plate continues to inspire my work. When his plate unexpectedly fell off the wall just as I was looking for inspiration, it felt like a meaningful reminder to keep creating and see where the process led.
For Wisdom Wednesday Live Art #7, I explored the colors and spirit of fall through three soft pastel drawings: Halloween pumpkins, an apple-cinnamon-inspired still life, and a sunset landscape that gradually became a dark, mysterious forest.
I started with pumpkins, experimenting with shapes, shadows, and expressive details. Next came a cozy apple cinnamon still life, complete with apples and a red mug. Finally, I revisited a beautiful sunset photograph from one of my favorite Palm Beach County parks, transforming the glowing sky and grassy landscape into a darker forest scene.
That last drawing carried a special connection to my grandfather, whose Autumn Tree in a Field acrylic painting on a plate continues to inspire my work. When his plate unexpectedly fell off the wall just as I was looking for inspiration, it felt like a meaningful reminder to keep creating and see where the process led.
💡 Words of Wisdom from this art livestream 7, by Jackie Morreale
Throughout this session, I reflected on the lessons art continues to teach me about creativity, patience, perspective, and perseverance.
On embracing your own creative freedom:
“It’s our world. I can put as many apples on the apple cinnamon-inspired still life as I like. And you can, too!”
On facing fear and keeping going:
“You just keep your head held high and you keep going through it. No matter what the fear is, it tells you something about yourself—what’s important to you.”
On embracing the uniqueness of every creative experience:
“Every time I sit and draw something, even if it’s very similar, it is different the second time around. It just depends on that day, what I’m looking at, what I ate for breakfast that morning, how I feel.”
On trusting your own artistic instincts:
“There’s no right or wrong way. Just draw what you see, and what you like.”
On the value of patience:
“The more patient you are, usually, I think the better it turns out, the more beautiful it comes together.”
On allowing yourself to interpret what you see:
“If there’s a moment that your lens didn’t snap exactly how your eye remembers it, make it how you like.”
On finding inspiration in nature:
“Nature is so much more beautiful than anything I can remember… I try to draw what I see because it’s so beautiful. More beautiful than I could come up with.”
On seeing beyond the obvious:
“You can see that it’s a grassy meadow, but it’s dark. The real focus is on the negative space, the sunset in the background.”
Throughout this session, I reflected on the lessons art continues to teach me about creativity, patience, perspective, and perseverance.
On embracing your own creative freedom:
“It’s our world. I can put as many apples on the apple cinnamon-inspired still life as I like. And you can, too!”
On facing fear and keeping going:
“You just keep your head held high and you keep going through it. No matter what the fear is, it tells you something about yourself—what’s important to you.”
On embracing the uniqueness of every creative experience:
“Every time I sit and draw something, even if it’s very similar, it is different the second time around. It just depends on that day, what I’m looking at, what I ate for breakfast that morning, how I feel.”
On trusting your own artistic instincts:
“There’s no right or wrong way. Just draw what you see, and what you like.”
On the value of patience:
“The more patient you are, usually, I think the better it turns out, the more beautiful it comes together.”
On allowing yourself to interpret what you see:
“If there’s a moment that your lens didn’t snap exactly how your eye remembers it, make it how you like.”
On finding inspiration in nature:
“Nature is so much more beautiful than anything I can remember… I try to draw what I see because it’s so beautiful. More beautiful than I could come up with.”
On seeing beyond the obvious:
“You can see that it’s a grassy meadow, but it’s dark. The real focus is on the negative space, the sunset in the background.”
'Thoughtful Thursday' Live Art 6: Peppers, Magic 8 Ball, & Harry Potter Toys
Published October 1, 2026
Thoughtful Thursday: Peppers, Predictions & Potter Magic 🌶️🎱🪄
For this special October edition of Wisdom Wednesday, Jackie Morreale found herself drawing on a Thursday, and so, decided to call it Thoughtful Thursday instead! The session begins with two colorful peppers inspired by still-life artwork Jackie’s grandfather created, followed by a playful Magic 8 Ball and a little Halloween-season fun with a Harry Potter-inspired Sorting Hat and Golden Snitch.
Along the way, Jackie reflects on the joy of drawing simply because something catches your eye. From the peppers sitting in her fridge to beloved Harry Potter imagery, these drawings are a reminder that art doesn’t have to be perfect—or even have a particular reason behind it.
Sometimes, it’s simply a way to capture a moment, experiment with shapes and color, and create something because you love it. And in my case, because pumpkin spice magic was in the air.
For this special October edition of Wisdom Wednesday, Jackie Morreale found herself drawing on a Thursday, and so, decided to call it Thoughtful Thursday instead! The session begins with two colorful peppers inspired by still-life artwork Jackie’s grandfather created, followed by a playful Magic 8 Ball and a little Halloween-season fun with a Harry Potter-inspired Sorting Hat and Golden Snitch.
Along the way, Jackie reflects on the joy of drawing simply because something catches your eye. From the peppers sitting in her fridge to beloved Harry Potter imagery, these drawings are a reminder that art doesn’t have to be perfect—or even have a particular reason behind it.
Sometimes, it’s simply a way to capture a moment, experiment with shapes and color, and create something because you love it. And in my case, because pumpkin spice magic was in the air.
Wisdom Wednesday Live Art 5: Chrysanthemum, Sunset, Iguana, Motorcycle
Published September 23, 2026
🌼🏔️🦎🏍️ From Flowers to Motorcycles: Follow Your Inspiration
For Wisdom Wednesday Live Art #5, I followed inspiration in four very different directions. We started with a warm-up drawing of beautiful white chrysanthemums—a gift from my friend Julia—then traveled back to the Austrian Alps with a sunset inspired by both a photograph I captured there and another of my grandfather Robert George Etienne’s paintings that recently fell from the wall. From there, I returned to a character I met while plein air sketching in Deerfield Beach: a wonderfully detailed iguana that kept wandering into my seascape and eventually earned the nickname “Godzilla.” Finally, I stepped completely outside my comfort zone and attempted my first vehicle drawing—a Ducati motorcycle inspired by my son.
This session was a reminder that you don't have to stay in one creative lane. Sometimes you can draw something familiar and organic, like a flower or landscape; sometimes you can revisit a place through memory and imagination; and sometimes you can challenge yourself with something you've never drawn before. With each drawing, I'm less concerned with making a perfect copy and more interested in observing closely, layering color, experimenting, and putting my own spin on what I see.
As I always say, it's your world and you get to decide what you create in it.
So grab whatever medium you love and create along with me. You never know where a drawing might take you—or what character, memory, or new creative possibility might emerge along the way.
For Wisdom Wednesday Live Art #5, I followed inspiration in four very different directions. We started with a warm-up drawing of beautiful white chrysanthemums—a gift from my friend Julia—then traveled back to the Austrian Alps with a sunset inspired by both a photograph I captured there and another of my grandfather Robert George Etienne’s paintings that recently fell from the wall. From there, I returned to a character I met while plein air sketching in Deerfield Beach: a wonderfully detailed iguana that kept wandering into my seascape and eventually earned the nickname “Godzilla.” Finally, I stepped completely outside my comfort zone and attempted my first vehicle drawing—a Ducati motorcycle inspired by my son.
This session was a reminder that you don't have to stay in one creative lane. Sometimes you can draw something familiar and organic, like a flower or landscape; sometimes you can revisit a place through memory and imagination; and sometimes you can challenge yourself with something you've never drawn before. With each drawing, I'm less concerned with making a perfect copy and more interested in observing closely, layering color, experimenting, and putting my own spin on what I see.
As I always say, it's your world and you get to decide what you create in it.
So grab whatever medium you love and create along with me. You never know where a drawing might take you—or what character, memory, or new creative possibility might emerge along the way.
Wisdom Wednesday Live Art 4: Alpine Cow, Black Cat, and Flying Squirrels
Published September 16, 2026
🐄🐈⬛🐿️ Critters: Looking Closely & Letting Imagination Take Over
For Wisdom Wednesday Live Art #4, I decided to draw some of my favorite kinds of inspiration: critters! I started with an Alpine cow from a hiking trail in Austria, inspired by a photograph and connected to my ongoing journey of recreating the spirit of my grandfather Robert George Etienne’s painted plate artworks. Then came a fierce black cat we met in Italy, complete with intense green eyes—perfect for the Halloween season. Finally, I returned to the flying squirrel I began in the previous session, adding its dark tree-home environment before drawing a second version mid-glide.
This session was a reminder that art isn't always about getting it right the first time. Sometimes you have to keep looking, adjust your proportions, layer your colors, rework what isn't quite right, and simply keep trying. And sometimes, in the process, a little critter starts to become a character—and a drawing starts to become a story. That's one of my favorite things about creating: you never quite know where your imagination will take you.
For Wisdom Wednesday Live Art #4, I decided to draw some of my favorite kinds of inspiration: critters! I started with an Alpine cow from a hiking trail in Austria, inspired by a photograph and connected to my ongoing journey of recreating the spirit of my grandfather Robert George Etienne’s painted plate artworks. Then came a fierce black cat we met in Italy, complete with intense green eyes—perfect for the Halloween season. Finally, I returned to the flying squirrel I began in the previous session, adding its dark tree-home environment before drawing a second version mid-glide.
This session was a reminder that art isn't always about getting it right the first time. Sometimes you have to keep looking, adjust your proportions, layer your colors, rework what isn't quite right, and simply keep trying. And sometimes, in the process, a little critter starts to become a character—and a drawing starts to become a story. That's one of my favorite things about creating: you never quite know where your imagination will take you.
Wisdom Wednesday Live Art 3: Waterfall, Monstera, & Flying Squirrel
(Click the link or on an image to watch the live recording)
Published September 9, 2026
This week's Wisdom Wednesday Live Art session #3 brought three very different subjects to the sketchbook: a peaceful waterfall at Riesachsee in the Austrian Alps, my own monstera plant, and a playful flying squirrel.
From a favorite family place to a familiar piece of home to an unexpected little creature, each drawing was an exercise in slowing down, looking closely, and letting imagination take over. Created in soft pastel, these sketches are reminders that inspiration doesn’t have to come from somewhere extraordinary; it can be found in the landscapes we remember, the things growing around us, and the creatures we imagine taking flight.
From a favorite family place to a familiar piece of home to an unexpected little creature, each drawing was an exercise in slowing down, looking closely, and letting imagination take over. Created in soft pastel, these sketches are reminders that inspiration doesn’t have to come from somewhere extraordinary; it can be found in the landscapes we remember, the things growing around us, and the creatures we imagine taking flight.
Wisdom Wednesday Live Art 2: Hydrangeas, Dragonfruit, & Lily the Dog
Published September 2, 2026
In the second Wisdom Wednesday live art session, I drew three very different subjects:
Working in real time with soft pastels, I share the process of layering color, blending, capturing light and shadow, and even drawing the refraction of stems through a glass vase.
But Wisdom Wednesday is about more than learning how to draw, it’s about finding joy in creating.
We explore the idea that your art doesn’t have to be perfect or look exactly like the thing in front of you.
It’s your world, your interpretation, and your opportunity to create something that makes you happy.
- Beautiful blue hydrangeas
- Colorful dragonfruit
- Lily, my Bichonpoo, and the inspiration behind my Yin-Yang the Brave book
Working in real time with soft pastels, I share the process of layering color, blending, capturing light and shadow, and even drawing the refraction of stems through a glass vase.
But Wisdom Wednesday is about more than learning how to draw, it’s about finding joy in creating.
We explore the idea that your art doesn’t have to be perfect or look exactly like the thing in front of you.
It’s your world, your interpretation, and your opportunity to create something that makes you happy.
Wisdom Wednesday Live Art 1: Feathers, Sunflowers, & Grandpa's Pelican
(Click the link or on an image to watch the live recording)
Published August 26, 2026
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🪶 Drawing Feathers: Finding Beauty in the Imperfect
I collect feathers. The ones I use for my artwork are all found feathers; things I've discovered in parks and along my walks. I love that they have a history. Some are colorful, worn, broken, or a little bit messy. To me, that makes them more interesting. When I draw them, I'm not trying to create an exact replica or a photograph. I'm trying to capture the feeling of what I see. And remember: It doesn't have to be perfect to be beautiful. |
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🌻 Sunflowers for Kenny
Next came one of my favorite things to draw: sunflowers. I love their bright yellow petals, their layers of color, and especially the feeling they bring back to me. Growing up near New York, I remember sunflower fields where the flowers could be as tall as you, or even taller. There is something about standing among sunflowers that makes it almost impossible not to feel happy. For this drawing, I started with the centers of the flowers and gradually built outward, using layers of yellow, brown, green, black, and white. I looked for the little differences, places where the light catches the edges. And remember: patience creates layers. |
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🐦 Recreating Grandpa's Pelican
I decided to recreate a pelican from one of my grandfather's paintings on a plate. I had never actually seen a pelican that looked exactly like his, so I had to trust his reference and interpretation while also making the drawing my own. Grandpa had painted this beautiful white pelican against a dark background, creating an incredible contrast. I started by capturing the large shapes—the body, head, wings, and bill—and then worked backward into the dark background so I could create clean edges around the bird. As I worked, something completely unexpected happened. My family called and said: “Big bird is outside!” A real Sanhill Crane bird appeared outside while I was drawing my grandfather's pelican. I couldn't have planned that. Maybe that's part of the magic of creating art, live... when you slow down enough to notice what's around you, you start seeing connections everywhere. |
✨ What Art Has Taught Me
This first Wisdom Wednesday wasn't really about learning how to draw a feather, sunflower, or pelican.
It was about what happens when you make something regularly.
I started using a set of pastels that was about 20 years old and began drawing again for just a few minutes a day. At first, I wasn't sure what I was doing.
But I kept going.
Five minutes became more. Practice brought back skills I had forgotten.
And eventually, I became more confident—not because I suddenly became a different artist, but because I gave myself permission to practice.
That reminds me of the idea behind Atomic Habits: small actions, repeated consistently, can create tremendous change over time.
The same thing can happen with creativity.
Maybe you used to draw.
Maybe you used to write.
Maybe you played an instrument, took photographs, danced, painted, built things, or had some other creative hobby that disappeared somewhere between work, family, and everyday responsibilities.
It's still there, within you.
How do I know? It was in me. And I think creativity is worth making room for.
This first Wisdom Wednesday wasn't really about learning how to draw a feather, sunflower, or pelican.
It was about what happens when you make something regularly.
I started using a set of pastels that was about 20 years old and began drawing again for just a few minutes a day. At first, I wasn't sure what I was doing.
But I kept going.
Five minutes became more. Practice brought back skills I had forgotten.
And eventually, I became more confident—not because I suddenly became a different artist, but because I gave myself permission to practice.
That reminds me of the idea behind Atomic Habits: small actions, repeated consistently, can create tremendous change over time.
The same thing can happen with creativity.
Maybe you used to draw.
Maybe you used to write.
Maybe you played an instrument, took photographs, danced, painted, built things, or had some other creative hobby that disappeared somewhere between work, family, and everyday responsibilities.
It's still there, within you.
How do I know? It was in me. And I think creativity is worth making room for.
🎨 Why Wisdom Wednesdays?
I've spent years talking with people about business, beauty, betterment, creativity, resilience, and the experiences that shape us through Wisdom for Wannabes.
Now I want to explore some of those ideas through art.
Every Wednesday, I'll take some time to create something and share the process with you.
Sometimes I'll talk.
Sometimes I'll let the music and drawing speak for themselves.
Sometimes I'll draw something meaningful.
Sometimes I'll simply draw something beautiful that I happened to notice that week.
But every time, I hope to remind you of something:
You don't have to be perfect to begin.
You don't have to know exactly what you're doing.
You can go back and try again.
And most importantly, you can make something simply because making it makes you happy.
Now I want to explore some of those ideas through art.
Every Wednesday, I'll take some time to create something and share the process with you.
Sometimes I'll talk.
Sometimes I'll let the music and drawing speak for themselves.
Sometimes I'll draw something meaningful.
Sometimes I'll simply draw something beautiful that I happened to notice that week.
But every time, I hope to remind you of something:
You don't have to be perfect to begin.
You don't have to know exactly what you're doing.
You can go back and try again.
And most importantly, you can make something simply because making it makes you happy.
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Join Me for the Next Wisdom WednesdayBring your own sketchbook, colored pencils, pastels—or absolutely nothing at all.
You can draw along with me, watch the artwork take shape, or simply spend a little time slowing down. Because sometimes wisdom doesn't come from having all the answers. Sometimes it comes from looking closely, being patient, and seeing what happens next. Subscribe to Wisdom for Wannabes on YouTube and join me for the next Wisdom Wednesday Live Art Session. |
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