Have you ever thought to yourself “that would be so worth printing” when you took a photograph of your food, your dog or yourself? Why didn’t you? Do you think having it on your phone was good enough? Maybe you just aren’t that interested in doing all the work that goes with getting that great pic printed and framed. Well, that could be a mistake. Having that moment you like so much permanently on your wall, desk, refrigerator or nightstand could actually make your days better overall, Permanently.

The emotion your feeling when you look at that photo of your “best breakfast ever” will fade very quickly after moving on to the next Instagram post. Think about how your day would be if every time you round the corner to get your keys, take the laundry into your bedroom, make a sandwich or do the dishes is right there, a photograph that brings up that great emotion once again.

No, really.

Having something that stirs positive feelings, forever reminding you to feel better, always in your line of sight will actually cause you to feel better over time, permanently. I don’t even have to make a statement that is supported by “scientific” evidence because we all know, deep down, that it’s absolutely right.

Maybe you don’t want to spend hundreds of dollars on frames or high quality, acid-free paper, wearing gloves so as not to leave fingerprints on the print? Well then, just don’t. If you have a favorite picture, just print a little one and scotch tape it to the wall. You will see how much you like it and I bet you will want it to be bigger and better.

I have been in a lot of homes, and there are almost always four bare walls with nothing on them. Why did we, as a society, become so negligent of our living spaces? Blank walls, for me, are stressful. They convey no emotion, intent or even style. Our lives are not a bland eggshell colored existence, our lives are intricate and convoluted. Our lives have so many shades of color that exist simultaneously in every minute of every day, fighting for our attention. Why not set the rudder and take the direction we want by lining our lives with beauty and the exact things that make us happy, forcing the day into the kind of day we want it to be? I think that sounds like a good idea. I am glad I thought of it, lol.

If you aren’t that great at photography (you have got to have something on your phone that looks good, I mean, come on) just look around at places like Walmart or Hobby Lobby. They have tons of stuff you may like, and they don’t cost that much. Heck, you could even buy one of mine, if you want. I could use the sale, and I would feel so proud that you actually thought enough of me to buy something of mine. After all, I didn’t take these photos for just my enjoyment, I took them to offer to the world so others can have the experience of emotion and the immense pleasure of looking deep into a photograph.

Really, you can look deep into a painting or a photograph and find something you have never noticed before. This photograph I took of a tree, on the surface, it looks like a really decently made photo but not much else. But take a look at it, really look. What do you see?

First off that tree is crazy. If you look close, there are little fingers all over the branches, almost like a cactus.

Then this thing, it’s some kind of squirrely, crazy swirl of a branch on it. It actually almost looks as if it was made in a factory and not just grown randomly by a tree in the ground.

While most people might not immediately understand that these images have actually drawn an emotion out of them, when you contemplate long enough and really relax and feel, you will find that you are actually feeling something. No, really. You are, I promise. That emotion may be good, bad or something in between but it's there.

That’s what art like this does. It makes us feel something. Making you feel something is precisely why advertisements look the way they do. It’s why some ads have celebrities, and some have average looking everyday people in them. They are wanting you to relate subconsciously by pulling specific emotions from you that make you feel comfortable and safe causing you to feel the same about whatever it is they are selling.

Use your photographs or browse my photos for one or two you might like and make you feel the emotion you want guiding you through the day. Make it one of the most prominent things in your visual landscape. I know you will not regret it.