Sunday ☕ : The New Word That Explains Everything

The smell of hot pancakes wafts through the dining hall, mingling with the crisp autumn air that carries whispers of winter’s approach. Outside my window, a beautiful mist has gathered on the water like nature’s own watercolor wash, while the boat docks sit mostly empty, their weathered wood glistening with morning dew. In the distance, far across Lake Michigan, a foghorn sounds its lonely warning — a deep, mournful note that somehow feels both melancholy and comforting. As I make my way from my room to breakfast, the satisfying crunch of fallen leaves is under my shoes, each step a small percussion in autumn’s symphony.

Today marks the last day of Fall Color Week here in Door County, Wisconsin, and I’m experiencing something that desperately needs a name. Do you ever get that feeling when you’re super happy and super sad at the same time? “Happy-sad” doesn’t capture it. Maybe “HapSad” comes closer. I’m sure some culture has a word for it, but whether or not that’s true, that’s exactly what’s going through me this morning.

Joy-Filled Farewells

I’ve spent a joy-filled week painting alongside some of the most remarkable people I know. Side by side, all day every day, we’ve shared stories, revealed varied personalities, and celebrated our collective passion for capturing nature’s fleeting beauty on canvas. I’ve made new friends and deepened relationships with old ones. Today brings the bittersweet ritual of farewell hugs — knowing some will return next year while others won’t, making this potentially the last time I’ll see certain faces that have become dear to me over these seven magical days.

Remarkable Resilience Displayed

There’s something especially hardy about this group that fills me with admiration. Despite their busy lives, despite caring for children, aging parents, spouses, and the endless demands of careers and responsibilities, they showed up here. They rewarded themselves with a much-needed distraction, a break, a full week of painting and the enrichment of deep friendships. We shared laughter that echoed across the lake, some tears over personal struggles, landscapes painted in the silence of nature, and hours of music while we painted portraits at night. Tasty meals nourished both body and soul.

SacriSelf Philosophy Emerges.

There should be a word for what these artists practiced this week — maybe “SacriSelf.” It’s the act of making sacrifices for yourself despite all your commitments to others. As the airlines wisely remind us, “Put on your own oxygen mask before helping others.” These people understand that rewarding themselves with a necessary break isn’t selfish — it’s actually the opposite. It makes them better, more enthusiastic, more present when they return to their commitments. They’ve learned that taking time to ensure they are healthy, happy, and rejuvenated isn’t indulgence; it’s essential maintenance of the soul.

Depth Over Surface.

I don’t usually claim to have a favorite week among all the events I host throughout the year, but if I’m honest, this would be it. Unlike the quick “Hi, how are ya?” exchanges at large plein air conventions, Fall Color Week gives us time to really sit and talk. I get to coach individual artists, truly listen to their stories, know them at a deeper level, offer help where I can, and intimately understand their artistic journey. This depth of connection is precisely why today’s farewell feels so poignant. But my HapSad finds balance in anticipation — I’ll soon be hosting another group through the spectacular landscapes of Switzerland and Italy.

Designing Joy Intentionally

People often ask me, “How did you get all these cool things in your life?” The answer is deceptively simple: I designed the life I wanted. If I were a football fanatic, I’d make sure the Super Bowl and playoff games were non-negotiable parts of my annual routine. If I were a golfer, it would be a pilgrimage to the Masters every spring. Routines become powerful when they’re built around fulfilling your deepest joy, not just managing obligations.

Beyond Autopilot Living

I’ve said this more times than I can count, but it bears repeating because we all need the reminder. I don’t believe we were born to sit around watching the news all day, overeating, sleeping, and repeating that cycle endlessly. I’m proud to say I didn’t watch television all summer long. I’m less proud to admit I burned far too many precious hours-doom scrolling on social media. Just to break free from screen addiction, I bought an actual physical book and forced myself to spend more time at my easel and in my woodworking shop. Still, I can never get those lost dopamine-driven hours back.

Joy Beyond Children

My greatest joy, outside of my relationship with Christ, lives in my children, but they can’t and shouldn’t be responsible for my entertainment or fulfillment most of the time. When my kids were born, well-meaning people warned me, “You might have to give up painting to be a good dad.” Being a father is indeed the best but hardest work I’ve ever undertaken. However, I would have been a significantly worse dad if I had abandoned my joy-filled distractions and creative hobbies. Those pursuits didn’t take away from my parenting — they enhanced it by keeping me whole, inspired, and energized.

The Joy Audit

Here’s my challenge for you this week: Examine your life with brutal honesty.

Where is your joy actually hiding?

Now ask the harder question — where are you living on autopilot?

Where do you spend most of your precious free time? Do you engage in those activities with intentional purpose, or have they become mindless habits? Are you watching five different versions of the same depressing news stories for five hours every night, or is there something life-giving you’d rather be doing with those irreplaceable hours? Have you merely given up?

Purpose Over Panic

A friend recently confessed, “I can’t retire because I wouldn’t have anything to do. I’m not creative, so I started a new business instead.” I applaud that choice if entrepreneurship truly brings him joy. I find massive fulfillment in running my businesses because they feel more like hobbies than work, and because I’ve deliberately built joy moments like these retreats and adventures with fellow artists into the very structure of my professional life.

Your True Self

Find your joy moments, and you’ll discover your truest self. It’s that simple and that revolutionary. In a world that constantly demands we sacrifice our dreams for “practical” considerations, choosing joy becomes an act of courage. Whether your joy lives in painting, music, gardening, cooking, writing, traveling, or something completely different, honor it. Schedule it. Protect it fiercely. Because in the end, those moments of pure joy aren’t luxuries — they’re the threads that weave together a life worth living.

A Very Quiet Drive

As I prepare for that lonely four-hour drive to Chicago’s airport this morning, I’ll be reflecting deeply on the gift of time spent with these incredible people. HapSad perfectly captures this moment — grateful for the experience while mourning its end, celebrating new friendships while grieving temporary farewells, feeling both fulfilled and empty as I transition from this magical week back to ordinary time.

But that’s the beauty of designing a joy-filled life. There’s always another adventure waiting just around the corner. And if there’s not, and the next adventure involves a funeral, I’ll have lived well and richly, and have wasted very few moments.
What about you?

PS: After I return home for a brief pause, I’m heading to Switzerland and Italy for my annual exotic painting expedition with another wonderful group. Since you probably missed this one, God willing there will be more. Stay tuned, but when I announce them, don’t dilly dally, because they tend to sell out fast.

When I get back, it’s time for PleinAir Live – our Global Online Art Summit that I genuinely believe will be life-changing for your art. If you’re a studio painter, it will transform your painting. We still have tickets available at www.pleinairlive.com.

Following that, Art Business Mastery Day arrives on December 6 — another Global Online Summit, this one focused on making a sustainable living as an artist. I’ve assembled a powerhouse lineup of experts who will deliver truly transformative insights. This one can transform your income. Register now at www.artbizmastery.com.

January brings Watercolor Live, our Global Art Summit that transforms watercolor skills with artists attending from every corner of the world. It’s by far the world's best way to level up your skills or to learn watercolor painting. The world will be attending. Early birds get the best pricing at www.watercolorlive.com.

February offers HapSad again as we escape from winter’s grip with my Winter Art Escape Artist Retreat in Hilton Head and Savannah. Picture this: trading cold, ice, and gray skies for sunny 70-degree painting days for an entire week. Sand between your toes, the view out your window is the Atlantic Ocean, and the view on the Weather Channel involves ice, snow, and closed airports. But don’t delay — it’s selling rapidly and you must register by October 5 to get in before the price increases. Details at www.winterartescape.com.

And the big event — our Plein Air Convention & Expo in May — is selling faster than any previous year. The main hotel is dangerously close to being completely sold out. With over 80 incredible instructors including watercolor master Thomas W. Schaller, and Andrew Tishler flying in from New Zealand, plus the convenience of manageable driving distances from major cities, this year’s event promises to be extraordinary. Secure your spot today at www.pleinairconvention.com.
Oh … and if that’s not enough, we’re about to announce more trips and more online events. Because life is too short for doom-scrolling.

Who Is This Guy Eric Rhoads?

Eric Rhoads is the founder and publisher of PleinAir Magazine and Fine Art Connoisseur Magazine (both on newsstands nationally), author and host of six Art Marketing instruction videos, writes a blog on Art Marketing, and is the author of the Amazon bestseller Make More Money Selling Your Art. Additionally, he produces the weekly e-newsletters American Watercolor, Fine Art Today, Inside Art, PaintTube ArtNotes, Pastel Today, Plein Air Today, and Realism Today. Eric hosts the in-person Plein Air Convention & Expo, the Fine Art Trip for art collectors, and painting retreats including Paint Adirondacks, Fall Color Week, and the Winter Art Escape, as well as online virtual events Acrylic Live, Pastel Live, PleinAir Live, Realism Live, Watercolor Live Digital Painting Live, Gouache Live, and Art Business Mastery Day. He is also the producer of the PleinAir Salon Online Art Competition and art instructional courses through PaintTube.tv. Each weekday Eric hosts Art School Live, a YouTube show featuring free demos from a variety of artists, and he is host of the PleinAir Podcast and Art Marketing Minute Podcast. Eric is a plein air, landscape, and portrait painter with works at Castle Gallery. He is heavily involved in the radio industry as founder of Radio Ink Magazine as well as Radio + Television Business Report, the Radio Forecast Conference, and the Hispanic Radio Conference. He is the author of the bestselling book Blast from the Past: A Pictorial History of Radio’s First 75 Years. Eric lives in Austin, Texas, with his bride, Laurie, and they are the parents of triplets. Learn more at EricRhoads.com, or see Everything We Do.