Beyond My Comfort Zone: It’s Time to Take My Leap Into Blogging
Lindsay Godfrey
Hello, and welcome to my first blog post! I’m Lindsay Godfrey, and I’m thrilled to share my artistic journey with you. Blogging is a new venture for me. While I favor visual expression, I am aspiring to write as a means of fostering creativity and establishing connections.
Why a Blog?
I want to give a peek behind the scenes of my creative process. I’ll share my inspirations, challenges, and techniques. Let’s discuss art, creativity, and everything in between.
Here, you’ll find a behind-the-scenes look at my creative process — my inspirations, the challenges I face, and the techniques I use to bring my ideas to life. I hope to create a space for conversation about art, creativity, and everything in between.
I’d love to connect with fellow artists and art lovers alike. Whether you’re an experienced creator or someone who simply appreciates the beauty of art, your thoughts and ideas are always welcome here.
A commissioned piece in process.
A Little About My Work
Art has always been a significant part of my life. From drawing in the margins of my childhood notebooks to the color-filled canvases that now fill my studio, every step along the way has shaped the artist I am today.
In simple terms, I am a landscape painter. Using oil paint or watercolor, I create artworks that echo the natural world. My work draws inspiration from nature, human emotion, and the connection we all share with the environment around us.
I’m endlessly inspired by sunlight and the way it interacts with natural elements. The challenge of translating that relationship onto a two-dimensional surface fascinates me. My goal is for my paintings to evoke a sense of primal serenity — a quiet recognition of something timeless and familiar. I hope viewers see in my work a reflection of their own memories of stillness and wonder in nature.
Oil painting in my studio
A Brief History
I was born, raised, and continue to live in Northwest Montana — a place of wild beauty with rugged mountains, clear lakes and rivers, and vast forests. My roots run deep in the Flathead Valley, where generations of my family have lived and worked.
As a child, I often took that natural abundance for granted. My family spent countless days on the lakes and rivers, hiking through the forests, picking huckleberries, and even gold panning — one of my dad’s many hobbies. Every morning, I watched the sunrise over one range of mountains, and each evening I saw it set behind another. The pinks, oranges, lavenders, cobalts, and deep inky blues of those skies are tattooed on my memory.
That influence has carried through every stage of my art — from high school to college and into my professional work today. Though I’ve been creating art for as long as I can remember, I fell in love with oil painting in high school and developed that passion further in the Fine Arts Program at the University of Montana. I’ve now been painting for over twenty years!
My love for watercolor painting came later, and somewhat out of necessity. When my husband and I started our family, I became a stay-at-home mom. While it was absolutely the right choice for our family, it left little time for the long setup and cleanup that oil painting required — so I stopped painting altogether for a few years.
An early watercolor botanical painting.
That changed thanks to my dear friend Barb, a retired nurse and fellow artist, who generously offered to watch my two toddlers once a week to give me a few hours of personal time. At first, I used those mornings for errands or a haircut — until Barb gently pointed out how much I missed painting. Encouraged by her, I dusted off my brushes, set up a small workspace in an extra bedroom, and began again.
That day, I had two realizations:
I had truly missed painting — it felt like rediscovering a part of myself that had gone quiet.
It was not like riding a bike; my skills were rusty, and I had work to do.
A few sessions (and one more baby girl) later, I was painting more confidently again. But time was still scarce, and oil painting wasn’t fitting into my rhythm as a mother. Once again, Barb offered wise advice — this time introducing me to watercolor.
Watercolor became my solution and my savior. I began painting during nap times or while Barb watched the kids. Some days, I managed six uninterrupted hours in the studio. That flexibility changed everything — it allowed me to be both a present mom and a growing artist. I’ll always be grateful for that turning point.
My young family at my solo show in 2015.
Today, I maintain a strong practice in both watercolor and oil painting, often working on one of each at the same time. This dual approach lets me stay creatively balanced while managing my art business, teaching watercolor workshops, and volunteering with the art program at my children’s school.
Getting Comfortable with Discomfort
One of my favorite quotes is by D.W. Winnicott, an English pediatrician and psychologist:
“Artists are people driven by the tension between the desire to communicate and the desire to hide.”
Me, enjoying the sunshine and gathering inspiration by the lake.
My best work is made when I feel an intense pull to create it — but with that comes vulnerability and self-doubt. I want people to connect with the work, yet part of me hesitates to share it. Over time, I’ve learned that pushing through that discomfort leads to connection, conversation, and growth.
Writing this blog brings up many of the same feelings — but also the same possibilities. So here I am, taking my leap, ready to share, to listen, and to keep learning along the way.
Thank you for taking the time to read my first post. I’m excited to embark on this journey together and to share my passion for art with you. Stay tuned for updates, reflections, and a peek into my latest projects!
