Spring always sneaks up on me here in Tampa.
Maybe it’s the way the air shifts, just slightly, or how the light softens across the tops of the palm trees in the late afternoon. But around this time every year, I feel it. The nudge to reset. To clear a little space. To come back to the things that matter with a cleaner lens.
I’ve learned that inspiration isn’t just something that strikes in the studio. It’s something that builds in the in-between moments. In long walks through my neighborhood. In wiping down surfaces and tucking things into their proper place. Even in watching the green of the house brighten a little after an exterior cleaning company came by to quietly rinse away a season’s worth of pollen and buildup. The process was slow and meticulous, almost meditative—reminding me of the way I approach my own paintings. The owner was quiet and kind, and the whole thing felt like such a spring ritual I couldn’t help but pause and appreciate it. Their website is here if you’re interested in the same kind of refresh.
There’s something deeply satisfying about small changes that shift how a space feels. Not just inside, but out. It reminds me that tending to your environment is a form of creativity too.
Tampa has taught me that in so many ways. It’s a place that blends motion and calm, color and quiet. It’s full of people who care about their homes and their businesses and the energy they bring to both. I think that’s what I love most here—the way beauty shows up in the everyday, if you’re paying attention.
Spring, for me, isn’t about doing everything all at once. It’s about starting small. A drawer, a sketchbook, a single corner of the porch. It’s about choosing to care, gently, quietly, and with intention.
And somehow, in that process, the creativity always comes back.
—Lesley
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