Why I Started Blogging: Flamingos, Creativity, and Breaking the Rules

Jennifer Jones
Aug 2
2 min read

After my sister started talking about her blog Feathers and Phases (check it out here: https://feathersandphases.com), I decided I should give blogging a whirl as well. Nothing like a sibling to spur you into action.

So, I started writing.

And as I wrote, I realized something: I had forgotten how much I actually enjoy writing. Not the serious kind—I’ve written plenty of legal briefs, memos, motions, and orders over the years. But blogging? Blogging is different.

No one’s going to fact-check my citations or point out how wrong my conclusions are. (Okay, that could happen. But blogging is about personal opinions—and everyone’s entitled to their own opinion without it being declared “wrong.”) Best of all, no one’s legal rights hang in the balance based on how well I phrase a sentence. That’s a relief.

🎨 Life Behind the Easel - Breaking the Rules

This blog was supposed to be about art. Just art. But rules—especially self-imposed ones—are made to be broken. So, I gave myself permission to write about whatever strikes me as interesting, funny, or just too odd not to share. A special section is in the blog for these off the art trail blogs - Life Behind the Easel.

Because creativity doesn’t end when the paint dries.

I’ve written about my very literal perception of the world—something that doesn’t spill into my art or writing. Those are the places where my creativity runs free. There are no boundaries. The skies can be pink, blue, brown, yellow, orange—or any color I choose. Goats? Hot pink and purple, of course. Ants playing marbles? Absolutely. It’s all fair in art and pen.

Paintings the break the literal rules.

More than once, someone who knows me only through my literal side has been shocked—literally (haha)—by the art I’ve created. People have actually said, “You painted that? I would NEVER have guessed.” Honestly… a little insulting. I can be creative. The paint and pen tell me so.

Take, for instance, the time I painted Flamingo Soldiers.

Gary—the magnificent art instructor ;) —looked at the piece and pointed out that the bodies of the flamingos looked too heavy for their legs. He meant it as helpful critique. “You could fix that,” he said.

But I just looked at him and replied, “Gary, a real flamingo isn’t out here building a sand flamingo army on the beach.”

The sky in the painting was all kinds of colors. A flamingo was, in fact, sculpting sand flamingos. Realism had already left the room.

He conceded the point.

And now, every time I see that painting, I smile. I don’t think, “The legs can’t support the bodies.” I think, “That ridiculous flamingo is still happily building its army.”

Blogging—and art—give me space to live in those quirky, imaginative corners of the world. And for that, I’m grateful.

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Thanks for reading The 3rd Flamingo—a blog for art lovers, creative wanderers, and anyone who’s ever made a beautiful mess. Want to keep up with future posts?