I’m elated to announce that one of my newest pieces was accepted into the exhibition that replaces the previous installation I was also fortunate to participate in at Poured in Mansfield Texas.
Award Winning Artist, Misty Lemons of Designs By Misty Blue Art poses with her Multimedia piece, “In The Spring Of My Anxiety”
My piece is called “In The Spring Of My Anxiety” and is a rumination of the inner turmoil I feel when suffering through anxiousness.
“In The Spring…” is a mixed media piece made from paper mache, paper clay, repurposed/found objects, and acrylic paint assembled on wood.
“Multimedia” is a multi-artist exhibition and will be on display through July, so be sure to catch the show before then. Pieces from the show are available for purchase with information on how to do so at the show.
To Learn More About Me And My Art, Art Commissions & More, Please Visit My Link Tree
Copyrights & Reproduction Rights Belong Solely To The Artist, Misty Lemons/Designs By Misty Blue Do Not Copy Or Reproduce
Hey, everyone! I’m still here. It’s been a tough time, but I’m pushing through. Between dealing with health challenges and trying to raise enough money for a procedure I’ll be having next month, I’ve also been dealing with harassment from my abuser—my father (more on that in a minute).
To keep myself going, I’ve started up the “Sharing My Art Every Day Til I Can Afford Healthcare” series again (on YouTube). I’ve got loads of artwork available, art commissions, tutorials, and a medical fundraiser up and running. If you’re interested in supporting, my family and I would be so grateful. Every bit helps!
I won’t lie—creating new work hasn’t been easy lately. I’ve been in a mental and physical “rest mode,” preparing for my upcoming procedure and, honestly, just enjoying some much-needed time with my immediate family.
Now, you might be wondering why I’m talking about my father. For years, I’ve been healing my childhood trauma and sharing that process with all of you. Staying silent only continues to protect the abuser, and I refuse to do that any longer. My story deserves to be told. It’s incredibly important to me that my story is heard—especially if something were to happen to me, I want there to be a record.
My father has stalked, harassed, and manipulated me for far too long (my whole life). I’ve told him multiple times that I don’t want him in my life—especially after he made cruel accusations to his neighbor, claiming I neglected and abused him. (It’s textbook narcissistic abuse to flip the script on their victim and accuse them of being abusive. The narc is charming to outsiders and they oftentimes will side with the narc.) Keep in mind, I was the one raising money and organizing supplies for him when his house burned down at that time. I even set up Meals on Wheels for him and got him in touch with Red Cross. It’s hard to understand how someone can be so twisted and diabolical, especially to recruit people to exact his cruel bidding even more.
He also told my brother I’m not his child, that he never treated me like I was. (He finally said the quiet part out loud! Now that’s closure!) But I did an Ancestry DNA test, and surprise—turns out, I am his child, just like my mom always said. It’s not shocking to me at this point. What I’ve learned over the years is that he’s cruel, manipulative, exploitative, and abusive. I’ve had enough of that. *YouTube Video Discussing This And Recent Events More In Depth*
I deserve peace. I deserve love. And I deserve happiness.
So, I’m focusing on keeping my spirits up and staying busy when I can, but I’m also giving myself permission to take things slowly and to talk about what’s happened and happening to me now.
I want to thank you all so much for your support and kindness. It truly means the world to me. I’ll try to keep you updated on everything, as it’s important to document things for safety, and I’m so grateful to have you in my corner. Take care of yourselves and I’ll see you soon!
Award Winning Artist, Misty Lemons of Designs By Misty Blue Art holding a watercolor painting she created live on YouTube, showing a technique she uses to calm her anxiety
To learn more about me and my art or if you’d like to offer support, please visit my Link Tree! Thank you so much!
Copyrights Reproduction Rights Belong Solely To Misty Lemons/Designs By Misty Blue Do Not Copy Or Reproduce
*For Educational Purposes Only
*For Legal Purposes, Statements Made Here & Other Platforms Are Opinion & Are Alleged
What if art, artists, and self-expression were to disappear tomorrow? What do you think the world would look like? Would it be drab, joyless, passionless, boring? Would the clothes you wear be bland and basic? Would packaging on products be unremarkable? Would movies, music, and art be created from AI that corruptly procured from the human artists that came before it? Would said “art” be wonky, weird, disjointed, and have multiple digits and appendages? Would art fairs disappear and be a thing of the past? Would art galleries shutter for good? How would it affect critical thinking and problem solving or empathy and emotional regulation? What if books no longer had pictures? Would concerts cease to exist? Would you miss art and artists then? Would you miss the human element and nuance?
Artist Misty Lemons poses with her watercolor painting “Hopeful Romantic”
This isn’t hyperbole. This is happening right before our eyes. Social media platforms are effectively misappropriating artist’s work and are essentially telling them it’s not good enough to pay them for, but it’s good enough to train their AI with and use for ads and marketing for the benefit of their company and its shareholders. They’re exploiting artists.
These platforms are not giving creators a means to opt out and are implementing these cruel, unfair policies into their terms of use. Artists are losing communities they worked incredibly hard to create, due to the artists having to flee these hostile platforms. They’re losing precious income that helps them and their families survive (especially if they’re disabled and this is their only means of work and income). The world is fundamentally telling them art isn’t essential and that they are unnecessary. Even though the art and content the artists have created entertain, educate, and inspire people and their work inherently helped these platforms grow. Not to mention, the taxes they pay helps the economy.
Art even has practical healing properties. Art is therapy. Art stirs the soul and creates connection. It kindles a fire in people’s minds, hearts, and spirits. It creates community. It helps patients with alzheimers and dementia. Studies show it prolongs and improves elderly lives. It helps people with anxietydisorders, PTSD, autism, and ADHD. There’s even been countless studies on how the arts improveexecutive function and motor skills in students that participate in artistic activities.
Artist Misty Lemons (Designs By Misty Blue Art) using art to cope with and heal through the grief of her mother’s passing and her childhood trauma (painting a pumpkin in watercolor outdoors)
I believe that art is a necessity. It is sustenance for the soul. It calms, relieves stress, creates connections in the brain and in communities, and is even a great historical record. Just look at cave paintings! Please, don’t take the power of art or artists for granted just because it’s seemingly everywhere. It doesn’t cheapen its worth. Art makes the world a better place by improving the lives of those who create it and those who appreciate it. Art is invaluable!
Supporting artists can be as simple as sharing their artwork and information with your friends and family, by attending your artist friends events, by purchasing their work, and by expressing to others the benefits and importance art has on society.
Thank You For Supporting Me (Misty Lemons/Designs By Misty Blue Art) Through Art Commissions, Tutorials, Shop Link: Link Tree
*For Educational Purposes Only! Statements made here within the blog are the opinion of the blog’s writer/owner, but we encourage you to do your own research into the benefits of art, the role society and social media platforms play in (allegedly) harming artists, and what you can do to help. No specific platform was named and any similarities are coincidental. Blog owner/writer not liable for any opinion stated therein.*
Copyrights & Reproduction Rights Belong Solely To Misty Lemons/Designs By Misty Blue Art Do Not Copy Or Reproduce
Everyone deserves to collect a paycheck from the work they do and just like any other industry, you pay for material, labor, skills, and time. Whether or not one can budget for something doesn’t make it any less valuable. And though you typically can’t eat art, it provides sustenance to the mind and soul, which physically supports the body, especially during trying times. A good example of this is that art therapy helps heal and soothe minds. It helps calm and regulate the nervous system. Art is a tool used by therapists and psychologists to treat patients with Complex PTSD, anxiety, grief, and a whole host of other debilitating issues. Art gives purpose and hope. It also fosters community and emotional intelligence. Both of which, benefits society.
After my mother passed away, I used art to process my grief and heal childhood trauma. Here I am painting a pumpkin during a visit to my favorite park.
Simply by acknowledging people can “just use AI” to create “art”, proves how necessary art truly is. It proves how invaluable art is. That art in general fulfills an important purpose and role in society.
It’s apparent that AI’s easy access will and has already taken jobs away from artists, that huge cooperations want free labor to boost their profit margins, and that it hurts regular people, hurts families. It’s taken away vital money from human artists and their families, making it more difficult for them to live, survive, and thrive in an already challenging society.
To place little or no value on the importance of art is uninformed at best, callous at worst. Art is everywhere. It’s on the shirts we wear, the packaging on our favorite products, it’s in the cars you drive, the decorations we put in our homes, the movies you watch, the music you listen to. All touched by human hands at some point. Life is art and for many, art is life.
In my opinion, it’s foolhardy to believe AI “art” could or should ever truly take the place of human created art that comes from skilled hands, minds, and souls. Art that comes from lived experiences and deep wells of emotion and thought. Art is passion.
AI “art” lacks humanity, nuance, and soul and was built off the backs of human artists by being trained off of stolen art from human artists on the internet. Artists not paid for their work by these questionable practices. Art they’d tell you has no value or meaning and yet, they absolutely need it to feed their machine and make money off of.
Supporting AI “art” is supporting theft by the predatory corporations who are pushing it out to the masses. Not to mention how destructive AI is to the planet by gulping up one of our most precious resources, water, to cool the servers and all the power it needs taxes an already heavily taxed, fragile power grid.
AI may not be going away, but it absolutely should be regulated to protect humanity and the planet. Everyone needs to be made aware of the impact it has on themselves, their friends, neighbors, and loved ones.
For Human Made Art & Tutorials, Please Visit My LinkTree
Copyrights & Reproduction Rights Belong Solely To Misty R. Lemons/Designs By Misty Blue Do Not Copy Or Reproduce
*For Educational Purposes Only. Statements Made Here Contain Opinions. To Learn More, Please Talk To Artists. Do Research. Thank You.*
Sometimes, I wonder how my life would be different had I not had chronic illnesses. Unfortunately, I’ve been ill in one way or another the majority of my life, so I can’t really say how it could’ve been. Anything I imagine would only be a dream.
Here I am contemplating my next art piece, or wondering how I can afford to go to the doctor, or both
Health is wealth that is easy to take for granted if you have it. And society just isn’t set up to be accommodating to those with illnesses or disabilities. I mean, think about it. It starts early in life. Schools reward and praise the kids that never miss a day, whether they’re sick or not. It’s like they’re saying they don’t care if you’re sick and taking care of yourself is shamed when you don’t get the accolades of perfect attendance. But health is a privilege and so is healthcare, when they should be human rights.
America is one of the richest countries in the world and it’s where I happened to be born. But capitalism, greed, rugged individualism, bigotry, and eugenics are heavily integrated into the systems that run our country and many a people have been fighting it, demanding change and equity/equality for a long time.
My mother was disabled. I had a front row seat to see just how difficult life is for someone with chronic illnesses and disabilities. She worked hard to make sure we had healthcare, a clean house and clothes, and food to eat, but government assistance only goes so far. By the end of every month free school lunches were our primary source for food.
Now, as an adult in need of access to healthcare, I’m well aware that to even be considered for government assistance in my state, you have to be at or below poverty level. Working class folks who are scraping by can’t afford health insurance or healthcare in general. Subsidies help on income tax, but what about now, in this moment? And deductibles are in the thousands, so you’re just throwing money away and not many physicians even take Obamacare, so the task of finding a decent doctor is even more slim than they are without Obamacare.
My health started to really decline in my teens. I had proof from my doctor that I was suffering and needed an accommodation to take an elevator instead of stairs to get to my second story classes. I was denied that accommodation because I looked fine. I wasn’t in a wheelchair or on crutches. I was in an incredible amount of pain, but looked perfectly healthy. The whole “suck it up” mentality and way of forcing others to do things they shouldn’t doesn’t work. At least, for the ones being forced. I quit school. I didn’t see any other option. I couldn’t carry what felt like fifty pounds of books up and down stairs on my back day in and day out. (My classes were nowhere near the locker I was provided, so I was forced to carry all my books) I physically couldn’t do it.
My mom pushed to get me into a one story alternative school and that’s where I was until I almost died from an ectopic pregnancy and then a few months after that my dad tried to kill my mother in a crowbar attack. I left school for good after that. I took on the responsibility of caring for my mom and brother until she moved away to be closer to my dad while he was in prison. But those are stories for a different time. Let’s get back to living with chronic illnesses.
Here’s a glamor shot of my mom. We went to the mall, when I was 13, to get our pictures done. We had so much fun being made up and dressed up, but wound up only being able to get this picture and one of me. It was way too expensive.
Finding gainful employment as a person with chronic illnesses and/or disabilities is incredibly difficult, if not impossible. So many jobs aren’t understanding when you need to take time off to receive healthcare, when you need to rest and recuperate, don’t provide health insurance, or they don’t want to provide even the most basic of accommodations to help you perform at your job, such as working from home. Most work without accommodations, are under paid, work til their bodies simply can’t anymore, don’t have a job, are homeless, or are self-employed.
I’ve been working as a self-employed artist for the past twenty plus years. I’ve been fortunate that my husband has been the main provider of our family and he encourages me to follow my dream. But anyone can become disabled at any time of their life and he now has some health issues as well. His employer doesn’t offer health benefits and his pay was recently cut, as well as the position he held. So, I’m now creating art tutorials in the hopes to supplement our income. I’ve also joined a local art group, so that I can exhibit and potentially sell my artwork.
My whole family needs to see a doctor for all different reasons, but we just can’t afford it. I’m now suffering from gastrointestinal issues and need testing and to see a specialist, but it’s not going to happen unless I can move some of my art and tutorials or accept donations through fundraising.
Here I am with one of my art tutorial pieces. It’s a watercolor fairy garden mushroom.
Back in 2011, I had thyroid cancer and now my doctor is concerned I could potentially have a gi type cancer. If that turns out to be the case, I don’t think I’ll be able to fight it with the financial situation we’re in now and that terrifies me. I’m trying to stay positive and have been doing PayPal fundraisers. But I can’t do this alone. My family and I appreciate your support. Whether you donate, purchase my art and art tutorials, or share my posts on social media. Thank you.
When I started livestreaming on TikTok, I offered a glimpse into my artistic process. Whether I was painting in watercolor in the park or sculpting polymer clay in my studio, I urged viewers to seek progress and not perfection when practicing art. I spoke on how therapeutic creating art can be, after suffering childhood trauma and using art as a tool for healing.
This Watercolor Fairy Garden Tutorial Is Available In My Shop Now!
After twenty plus years of being a professional creative, it only made sense to start teaching what I’ve learned. I’m starting with watercolor painting and may move on to acrylic painting and polymer clay later.
I chose to start with watercolor tutorials because I remember when I started to learn watercolor how intimidating it felt. But I kept at it and I want to share my insights into the medium with others who may be feeling the same way I did.
To Honor Him, I Named This Tutorial After My Dog, Bones. He Loved Eating Watermelon With Me. He Was My Bestest Buddy And I Miss Him Every Day.Here I Am With My Sweet Boy After Demolishing A Watermelon Together On The Fourth Of July
When the pandemic hit, people were picking up new skills while in quarantine. I decided to pick up watercolor. But after my mom passed in 2022, I decided I needed something to help me through my grief. So I started painting several times a day for six months. Only when I started practicing daily did I see real improvement. And I still consider art a practice. Every time I create I learn something new and see progress in the skills I’m learning.
After Losing My Mom, Going To The Park To Paint Was The Best Thing I Did For Myself. It Helped Me Process My Grief.
It’s my hope that I inspire others to create and use art for their mental and emotional well-being. I’m not a therapist or doctor, but studies show art is beneficial and beyond that, I believe it because I live it. Art helps me. Maybe, it can help you too.
To Learn More About Me & My Artwork & To Shop My Art & Tutorials, Please Visit My LinkTree
Art & Blog Copyrights & Reproduction Rights Belong Solely To: Misty R. Lemons/Designs By Misty Blue Do Not Copy
Social media dictates that you should have a niche to grow your platform. To be honest, I have struggled with this. It feels oppressive. Why put myself in a box? Why should I niche down who and what I am and what I do? I’m a multipassionate, multidimensional human being. I have railed against a niche until I realized I don’t have to.
Pictured: Misty Lemons, a multipassionate multidimensional artist & human being
I can be me and keep doing all I do. Through healing my childhood trauma and all the work I’ve put into it, and how I’ve always used art to cope, I now know I am my niche. My niche is me. It fits me, and there’s peace in that.
My niche is Inspiring Emotional Well-Being Through Art. It’s always been that. I just wasn’t able to put it into words until recently. It helps give my platform direction and meaning. I look forward to continuing to grow and creating more! It’s exciting to better connect with others through my niche!
In any case, thank you for supporting me while I’m on this journey of healing and self-discovery. I appreciate you.
To Shop & Learn More About Me & My Artwork, Please Visit: My LinkTree
*This blog is for educational purposes only. I’m not a therapist or doctor.*
Copyrights & Reproduction Rights Belong Solely To: Misty R. Lemons/Designs By Misty Blue Do Not Copy Or Reproduce
Today I experienced my first ever podcast interview! (You can listen to it on Spotify now!) The podcast channel is called Past Level 50 With Mel and my particular episode is called “Facing Trauma Without The Mask: Misty’s Story”.
Mel and I follow each other on TikTok and that’s how we “met”. She reached out to me about a week ago and invited me to do a podcast with her, after I had mentioned that someday I’d like to do a TEDx Talk and podcast interview about how I’ve used art to help me cope and heal my childhood trauma.
Mel is so easy to talk to. She immediately put me at ease. She’s genuinely kind and real.
I started my trauma healing journey two years ago and today was the culmination of what I’ve learned along the way.
Talking about my life isn’t easy. In fact, it goes against everything I was taught growing up and is foreign to me. I was expected to be quiet and not have needs or emotions. I was taught it was better for me to be invisible and not make myself a target. It’s how I survived.
Here I am holding a foam sculpture I made with an endearing message that means a lot to me
Today triggered me. I felt like I was shaming my mother and her memory. Like I was the bad child my parents made me out to be. Like I was failing her. But the truth is these things happened. I didn’t ask to be born, nor did I ask to be abused by people who should’ve protected me and comforted me. They failed me.
None of this has been easy for me. It’s like ripping a big bandage off a deep, angry wound. It’s raw and painful. But the wound needs to be exposed to the light to heal properly. Keeping this locked inside no longer serves me.
I don’t want to be a prisoner of the past. I owe it to myself to honor myself and my truth. And hopefully, my story will help others know that healing is possible. Though, my main goal is to feel better by healing myself and my family. But I love hearing that it helps others as well. That’s wonderful and amazing to me!
This is a journey I’ll probably be on the rest of my life, but it’s worth it because every step of the way more of the weight is lifted from me.
My mom was troubled. She had her own trauma and didn’t have the tools to cope or heal, but she wanted to and she tried. She did get some things right. She apologized to me a few years ago and genuinely meant it. I forgive her and I love and miss her. I’m her legacy and my healing and ending the generational trauma cycle is my legacy for me and future generations.
Easter with my mom and brother. This was her favorite memory and one of mine too. This photo was at her bedside when she passed. I was at her side too.
If you’ve ever experienced anything similar, please feel free to share in the comments.
To Learn More About Me And My Artwork, Please Visit My LinkTree
Copyrights & Reproduction Rights Belong Solely To Misty Lemons/Designs By Misty Blue Do Not Copy
Misty Blue Arts 