Beautiful Life

Update: CONTEST CLOSED
The winners were select using http://www.random.org/

Thanks for all your great comments .. I will now have to apply them to my life :)

Cam Hoff
worksonpaper.ca

Jose Reyes
metaleapdesign.com

EW

Amy
redfishcircle.blogspot.com

Louise Best
louloulovesbooks.com

“Beautiful Life” – This image is about optimism, appreciating life and nurturing your curiosity.

This has been a theme in my work for awhile and one that continues to inspire me. My mother, the flower in this illustration, was a very optimistic person that always facilitated my curiosity and encouraged me to explore .. probably one of the main reasons I am now living in South America.  She was incredibly unconventional and taught me that there are many ways to go about solving a problem… she had no reservations about taking an alternative route. She hung maps of the world upside-down to make the point there is no upside-down or right-side up in outer space. She would use the coffeemaker to cook her oatmeal because she could put the oatmeal in the coffee pot the night before, fill the coffeemaker with water, set the timer and in the morning she would have her oatmeal waiting for her. My friends and I would wait for her to pick us up at the Bencia Skateboard Park and she would arrive with a car load of elderly people that she decided to take on an impromptu field trip.

What: I am giving away 5 of these “Beautiful Life” Posters (6-color, silkscreen, 18×24 inches)
How: To enter just leave a comment on what you dig about life.  It can be something huge .. or something very small that just makes you happy.
When: On May 15th 2009 I will randomly select 5 people from below and mail each one a poster.
Rules: Just one comment per person on this page http://www.n8w.com/wp/1557.

If you would just like to purchase this poster .. click here.

1
(6-color, silkscreen, 18″x24″)

2

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  • What I dig about life? Every single day offers you the chance to grow as a human and a spiritual being.
  • Damon Chapman
    I dig dandelions.

    Damon X
  • You're so lucky to have got to skate places like Benicia! England is a cool place to skate but Benicia looks soooo smoooooth. I think the best place I ever got to skate was the South Bank in London but Bedminster Skatepark in Bristol was also very good. I saw Natas skate there and it completely blew me away.
    Life is good because I get to illustrate and illustration is the next best thing to skateboarding. There's something a bit irresponsible about both.
  • I dig coming home and getting a warm welcome from my doggie... noticing and appreciating the small things in life... living life every day!
  • Marion Cable
    Hey Nate,
    Hmmm well there is so much that I dig about life, most of which will sound incredibly corny and cliched, but the one thing I'm really digging right now is the cherry blossoms. It's coming into summer, and all these trees you never really noticed before are suddenly blooming with white, ivory, pink, snowy, magic blossoms. What I most dig though is when I walk under the tree and the blossoms fall on my face and shoulders and when I look up all I can see in my entire field of vision is blossoms, just everywhere. It makes me really happy.
  • Clearly, optimism is contagious--as seen by the number of enthusiastic comments left here. I have a digital wallpaper version of this image on my desktop right now and it greets me every morning I power up my Mac.

    I love the smiling faces of your flower carrying man and daisy faced woman. I always think of your mom--and the fact that this was a tribute to her--when I read your hand written words "Beautiful Life".

    It is, you know.
  • Lately I get up as early as I can to have a few minutes to myself before the days starts. I make some coffee, play some music and try and draw something. My beautiful thing is hearing my two and a half year old son's footsteps as he runs out of the bedroom to see what Daddy is doing.
  • sarah
    it's a beautiful life because i never know who or what might surprise me next. i'd never heard of you until i stumbled across this site, but i'm so glad i did. it makes me happy to see your illustrations and to know there are people out there like you.
  • I don't know how to be, do or think anything other than right-brained. What makes life beautiful for me is stumbling across that one artist/designer/illustrator who makes me remember why I love doing this. The beauty is in the inspiration. Thank You!
  • Todd
    Life is Beautiful because it means that I still have a chance to make it something special.
  • Elaine Chiu
    Hello Nate,

    I wish I knew earlier that you are residing in Buenos Aires. I was just there myself experiencing the "Beautiful Life" of the Portenos as a milonguera. I am secretly hoping that you will do a piece on Tango:)
  • Denise Garcia
    Feeling free to dance and sing at the top of my lungs. No matter who's looking. It sounds cliche and just "another" line...but it represents truly who I am. Dancing is the cleansing of my soul and no matter how old I am it makes me feel alive and completes me. I love love but dancing is always there for me.
  • craigio
    Life is...... . . . .
    (B) Breakfast in bed
    (E) Elephants eyes
    (A) Awake at sunrise in my garden
    (U) Under the bed covers with my beautiful wife
    (T) Thinking about the future
    (I) Imagination! 'It's greater than knowledge', Einstein once said. (Rock on Albert!)
    (F) Family ( Always )
    (U) Us! Right here, right now
    (L) LIFE (You gotta love it yeh!)
  • Marco A. Martinez
    Why is life beautiful? because there's so much to live for and that's what make it beautiful.
  • Marco A. Martinez
    Why is life beautiful? cuz there's so much to live for and that's what make it beautiful.
  • Rescuing a barely born chick from the wire netting at the side of the lake and watching it fluffily paddling furiously to it’s mum and dad and three siblings. I watched the parents calling and it seemed so ominous and bleating that I realised something was wrong. Found the little chick and released it. I always think it’s a shame to intervene in nature but that was necessary.
    Just found your site and lovelovelove your creativity.
    Louise
  • Nate,
    I have to say that this brought a huge smile to my face just scrolling and scrolling and scrolling and scrolling down to this comment form.I'm SURE it will be very difficult to pick a worthy recipient. Bonne chance!
  • There's so many things to love. The small, everyday joys like an unprompted morning kiss from my child or the way the sun comes in through a dappled window; to the larger, rarer moments of a heart felt wedding speech or visiting great friends whom I rarely see.
  • jez
    i dig spending all day on the interweb and coming across something like this (your artwork) just before you call it quits for the day while seraching for something totally unrelated. it makes everything worth it.
  • AMelia
    Hammocks!!!
  • Beauty full of life

    always, everywhere!
  • amazing work! i really dig your work!
  • Melanie Wessels
    to see a little baby cat getting stronger and fighting to live with just a little love and care, after being abandoned.that's life, that's beautiful...
  • some certain porcupine
    It is all about crazy moms, tell me about it
  • aeisen
    living with unknown and finding beauty in it.
  • S.J. Hummer
    I love life's spontaneous yet ironically timely quips. And the 80's.
  • There was an old man on the subway, sitting quietly, hands in his lap, staring straight ahead. But the moment the train pulled into a station, he sprang to life, shouting in his best carnival barker voice "23rd Street Station!" (or whatever the name of the station was). Then he went back to sitting quietly. Maybe this is his "job." I love this guy. He's enjoying himself, not hurting anyone or asking for anything, and perhaps even providing a little much-needed information at the same time.
  • lorie
    the fact that you never know the answer to the question 'where will you be in one year?'
  • Great poster! I just got here today, so I want to explore more! What I'm diggin in life is that it is finally spring up here in north Canada and the snow is gone!
    I'm diggin all my wonderful books, magazines and blogs that give me inspiration every day.

    Lovin it!

    Cheryl
  • TR Douglas
    I dig that so many people who don't even know me are working hard to make my life easier and better. The store clerk who smiles at me. The city worker who keeps my street clean. The delivery driver who keeps my grocery store stocked with food. The policeman who patrols my neighborhood at 4am. The utility worker who maintains the wires that bring me electricity. The list is long and I am grateful for every one of them.
  • Jack
    You. (And yes, I do mean you.)
  • Suze
    the kindness of strangers, the kind of stranger, the strange kind
    irony, dogs, ampersands, jack and frankelina
    in a particular order but not this very one
  • I love that life is such a gift. You can do whatever you want with it. My 2 year old son reminds me of how to look at it with new eyes. My wife shows me how to love people deeply.
    PS: pick me Nate, your stuff is amazing! I've been inspired by your story and left other jobs to start my own art studio, and its going well and I love it.
  • mercedes parellada
    puffy clouds up in the sky
    floating thru the blue.
    endless seas before my eyes,
    the deepest blue/green hue.

    my little sausage dog below
    licking at my feet
    clawing me to pick him up
    makes me feel complete.

    dreamy man who's still a dream
    yet he is so very real
    even after 5 long years
    true love is what i feel.

    looking in the mirror i see
    my aging face
    learning to not care so much
    i go thru life with grace.

    big blue spinning planet
    thats endlessly amazing.
    from rocket ships, to poetry
    to herds of cows a grazing.

    love it when i laugh so hard
    that it hurts just like a knife.
    always having humor
    makes a beautiful life.
  • kelli bowen
    Life is beautiful because i want it to be. i choose to see it in this way. i have always said that to be consciously alive for even only a few minutes is worth it just to smell a smell and see a color. often i forget what a true blessing it is to be alive on this beautiful planet....but more often than that i do not forget and that makes me happy. we live in an amazing place filled with blue skies and green trees, happy dogs and amazing creatures. we have human beings on the planet that do amazing things and create art and awe inspiring inventions. if you just open your eyes a bit, you can be struck by something tear jerkingly beautiful every single day. i think life on planet earth rocks, and it is beautiful.
  • I'm constantly in awe of the kindness and goodness in people, this along with nature, veggie gardens and smiling children make life a treat.
  • The best moment is when I ride my bike to work ... and I have to wait because the bridge is open and a boat passes in the middle of the city... I live in the center of Paris.
  • Sel Thomson
    Elephants, because they are big and wrinkly.
  • isn't it exciting

    that no-one else is you?!

    ^.^
  • Amy
    What a beautiful post and generous give away. I love the moment. The beauty of life is in the moment. As a mom with a grown son (who is about to move to Vietnam - he inspires me!) I learned early on to savor each and every one and as a result life has been beautiful and full. It sounds like your mom really knew how to grab the tiny moments and filled them and you up with lots of love and beauty. Thanks for sharing.
  • jea alayon
    life's being so unexpected is what i dig most about it. it's usually full of surprises.
  • patrick moore
    sharing a chocolate milk shake with my wife.
  • Honey
    What I love about life is being loved. The feeling you get when the one you love looks at you and you can see in their eyes just how much they love you back. That moment, when you're talking and laughing and you know you belong together. I just love that!
  • maria ulvedal
    Ey, I want to be like your mother...some day, in the future, my son will love me in a colorfully way!!
  • warm, lazy days spent with my wife. doing anything, but preferably road tripping.
  • Hi Nate!

    I love your story. What I love most about life is the inspiration all around us and I see this expressed most vividly in our children. What wonder it must be to see our world through the eyes of a child. What intrigues me even more is the transition that children make from the freedom and creativity and curiosity that they experience in their youngest years to the heavier, more weighty, struggles of teen years. I believe that amazing women such as your mother foster growth and creativity and freedom and peace in our world as they allow us to hold on to those wonderful qualities that are given to us by nature and taken away at some point when we grow up and try to conform to society. I have two young boys and every day my hope for them is to know that they are perfect just the way they are and to hold on to their true creative nature. The moment I saw your art I noticed this fun, childlike, free spirited quality and it is clear that your mother fostered the quality in you to keep seeing the world through the eyes of a child. How very lucky you are! But most importantly...we must keep fostering this creativity throughout the generations...the true spirit that makes live beautiful! Namaste.
  • Poem called ‘Life’

    by Park Bench Poet

    (Inspired by Stephen Chbosky's novel, The Perks of Being a Wallflower)

    ----------------------------

    Life

    Don’t wait around
    For nobody

    Life

    Grab a hold
    Of somebody

    Life

    Don’t wait around
    For nobody

    Life

    Grab a hold
    Of somebody

    ----------------------------

    Please listen
    And understand
    I mean nothing bad
    By this my man

    Try to remember
    Back in September
    Problems at home
    So just leave me alone

    Other people
    Got it worse then me
    But they kiss and talk
    About old movies

    My dad works
    Like an honest man
    So I guess that means
    He’s a honest man

    My mum cries
    When we watch TV
    She shows her emotions
    Just like me

    I think about this
    More than sometimes
    Stick to the subject
    Set to sunrise

    Watch the people
    In love tonight
    Worry about it
    All the time

    Ever since
    You lectured me
    Accept the love
    In front of me

    ----------------------------

    Life

    Don’t wait around
    For nobody

    Life

    Grab a hold
    Of somebody

    Life

    Don’t wait around
    For nobody

    Life

    Grab a hold
    Of somebody

    ----------------------------

    Let the quiet
    Put things to sleep
    As we speak on the phone
    Indefinitely

    The greatest thing
    About these words
    Is they give a life
    A chance to be heard

    I feel young
    In such a good way
    No longer have to make
    Things go away

    Weight of the world
    It leaves my soul
    Still the weather makes me
    Feel so damn small

    Pretty eyes
    Are a joy to see
    But why you holding
    Back on me?

    Think of a reason
    Live each day
    Kiss in the rain
    On a cold Sunday

    Photographs
    Tell happy stories
    Of how we all love
    Times before these

    Quietly
    I watch you sleep
    In the palm of my hand
    Sweet memories

    ----------------------------

    Life

    Don’t wait around
    For nobody

    Life

    Grab a hold
    Of somebody

    Life

    Don’t wait around
    For nobody

    Life

    Grab a hold
    Of somebody

    ----------------------------

    Feelings of joy
    And great sadness
    A look of love
    A heart that’s fearless

    I take a moment
    Stare out my window
    It moves too fast
    For me to really see though

    The world spins
    And chews you up
    Moves you around
    Till you can’t stand up

    I am
    Nobody but me
    This is
    Individuality

    Hear the voices
    Of my generation
    But this is no time
    For heroes my son

    Never thought
    That this would happen
    We can’t find the time
    To make this happen

    Will you ever know
    The real me?
    Sit at the table
    With my family

    Start to think
    About what you said
    Now a year’s gone by
    I guess we all forget

    ----------------------------

    Life

    Don’t wait around
    For nobody

    Life

    Grab a hold
    Of somebody

    Life

    Don’t wait around
    For nobody

    Life

    Grab a hold
    Of somebody

    ----------------------------
  • I'm happy that life has not yet fulfilled my expectation of residing under an Interstate overpass, keeping some filthy dog and muttering to myself. Every day that situation does not become a reality is a good day.
  • The best about life? That you never know what tomorrow brings. Life is an adventure.
  • Liz Beal
    Hey Nate - what a nice image to represent your mom! I am sure that you must still miss her tons. I thank you, and her, for the oatmeal idea. I will have to try that. :))
    I love my daughter's stinky delicious tootsies! Hope our kids can meet someday! Big Hug.
  • Nate, Wow, I LOVE this contest. What great answers are coming in! Reading the paragraph about your mother made me beam a huge smile. Thanks, I needed that this morning! I wish I could have known her. What a wonderful soul. My beautiful mother is gone too, and now I must find things to make me happy while I grieve. As a fellow artist I LOVE your work, it's full of life and it inspires me to no end.
    Life is indeed beautiful! Here are a smidgeon of the things that make it so:

    *The ocean, no matter where you are looking at it, *popcicles on a hot day, *having a crush on someone, *getting flowers, *sunshine, *sunsets, *hearing your favorite song and dancing to it wildly, *silly outbursts, *hanging with your favorite friend, *a child's laughter, *the purr of your cat on your lap, *hammocks, *naps, *springtime, *the sound of rain on a roof or the sound of a fire in the fireplace, *painting, *drawing, *making things for and sharing your art with friends and loved ones, *a first kiss, *bouncing on the bed with kids, *a shared homecooked meal, *great wine, *a good pillow and a soft bed, *burritos, *when the birds show up to your new bird feeder, *convertables, *skateboards,* travel, *whether it be a road trip or an international trek, *gardening, *hugs,* smiles from strangers, *honest mechanics, *kindness in any form, *nature, *learning a new trick... and finally, being able to be grateful for all of these treasures.
  • Your mum sounds just like mine... we even have an upside-down world map! I am optimistic about everything in this beautiful life but I especially like the little things like when my granny stirs the mold into the jam because she thinks it's good for us : )
  • matt bovie
    i like collecting smiles from pretty girls.
  • Rebecca
    I love the sound of my daughter's voice, the smell of my doggies ears, the twinkle in my husbands eyes and my soft, soft bed.
  • Kindness - that's what I dig the most.
  • I dig the little things in life. Sharing a meal with my husband. Drinking a glass of wine on our patio. Being barefoot. The way it smells after it rains. Making art. Enjoying live music. Exploring, learning, growing.
  • In life, nothing is more important than looking at the positive. Count your blessings, keep a gratitude journal, however you choose to phrase it, just pay more attention to what is going right in your life than on what is going wrong, and you’ll be a happy person.
  • Lisa
    A beautiful life is filled with ambush hugs and I love you too's.
  • I dig warm weather...Its finally getting warm and it makes everyone's moods change. Happiness is everywhere the energy is a peak levels.
  • Jonathan Edelhuber
    There are so many things to love about life...One thing I love is coming home...It can be coming home with my wife after a long trip or going back to my childhood home and seeing the familiar things and smelling the familiar smells after being away for some time. There are a ton a great things about life, large and small, but coming home is always such a good one.
  • Ludmila Kosenko
    I smile and sometimes laugh out loud at God's creation. What a wonder! He has such a wonderful sense of humor and with it designed and made some strange creatures (including us humans.) Nature with all its beauty and full of wondrous life makes me happy!
  • Life is a beautiful blessing. A journey through peaks and valleys that teaches great lessons along the way. I believe staying open-minded, positive and willing to learn new things is essential to staying young at heart.
  • Con la muerte de mi madre en Cuba a los tres años de vivir yo en los Estados Unidos, "Life is Beautiful" es un concepto bastante difícil de sostener. Lo increible es que -aun en tu dia más gris- la vida se sucede, "it just happen". Y el estar en cierto mood de quietud, mirando a ratos el suceder de los eventos con cierta distancia, te da la macabra satisfaccion de constatar how painfully beautiful life is.
  • I love life because I have a dream, and I've finally thrown caution to the wind and decided to pursue it :)
  • I dig the people and their enthusiasms, quirks and foibles. It wouldn't be the same without them. And dogs and birds, too. Our collective creativity in all our endeavors makes it.
  • Christine
    I dig the people and their enthusiasms, quirks and foibles. It wouldn't be the same without them. And dogs and birds, too.
  • Hell Yeah! I'm entering this giveaway! The poster is too beautiful to pass by:)
    What I love about my life is my family and my art:)
  • Regina Alexandra
    What I dig daily is getting up early, before the noise of the world and my household has started, and taking that first sip of the froth on top of my espresso coffee....heaven!
  • What I love about life is that I know I can be happy just by doing what I really love, and with the people I really love. Nothing else matters. Life is too short to spend it on things that you hate doing.
  • LaDawn Moore
    I dig the remnants of whimsy, laughing banana's and giggling cherries. I am riding a raft through the currents of living, and have thrown my paddles over board. Your art makes me happy!
  • Nick
    I like that life is fleeting, cuz it makes me want to get shit done
  • wat i dig about life is the seemingly endless stream of learning that is the day-to-day- be it work related, love related, earth related- whatever.. it seems as though there will never be enough time to learn all that i want, but that is almost even more fulfilling- to know that no matter how much i take in today, there will always be more to learn tomorrow.
  • I dig sitting in my greenhouse! The smell of tomatoes, sunlight hazing through the dirty windows.
    I'd be drinking a cup of tea for sure!
  • I like it when things come out easily. When I just grab a brush and the paint seems to spread itself, creating exactly what I had in mind. Don't know if you remember or know about those coulouring children books where kids have to use a "magic" felt pen that would colour the paper automatically. That's the feeling.
    Unfortunately it doesn't happen very often.
  • I dig the smell of earth after rain.
  • Corey Everett
    celery and peas and dogs when the sneeze.
    birds making turds and fleas saying please.
    crickets with shoes and all bugs when they snooze.
    gnats friends with cats watching far sighted bats.
    greens, yellows and well molded jellos.
  • Zulli
    Everyday is a gift.
    Tomorrow is not a guarantee to anyone, so live everyday as if were truly your last.
    The little things you do for others really do matter.
    Love as if you never been hurt, and you will always come out on top.
  • clamhead
    I like that life is arbitrary. That it is mysterious. I like that people are resilient and can have a sense of humor in difficult times.
  • Life is beautiful when I am anywhere with my boyfriend sipping tea.
  • hope you get the spanish

    amo la vida, por su sabia dureza, por todo lo hermoso que tiene y al mismo tiempo todo lo dificil y duro que tiene. amo lo bueno y lo malo y eso es dificil. amo saber que no importa que tan oscura sea la noche, siempre va a amanecer. amo a mis amigos, a mi familia, mis dibujos, mi gata, a los animales, y ese amor es el motor de mi vida frente a este oceano de desastres.

    cheers!
  • Yess
    Life is colorfully beautiful! Each seasons has special gifts for each of us (sun, rain, green and golden leaves...) and being able to share them with the ones you love is something amazing.
  • Mike Gold
    Life is beautiful hearing my 6-year old son describe his latest drawing: This is Blubberdyville, see, they have curvy bodies. The big ones are skiddemerink's and they're the king and queen of Blubberdyville. See how they're all playing games together. Those two are looking at a map. Those two are playing cars.
  • Mike Turner
    Sitting in the sun in the park being inspired by the trees, life and weather around you. Then creating work from this.
  • getting older and wiser
  • I love inspiration and the many surprising places I find it. And my niece who is two who is becoming a strong and interesting little character in my life, her appetite for happiness is amazing. :)
  • Jo Walters
    I love how when you are your most still and your most quiet life can unroll itself at your feet and fill a space bigger than you ever knew was there.
  • Sara
    Watching my two cats and one dog playing, animals give me faith in life and in love.
  • hanne
    Life can be very beautiful but without people to share it with, it means nothing.
    So, I love my life because of all the people in it.
  • My wife for the huge part of my happiness my friends for all the laughing part and looking at small living animals and things like snails, spiders, ants etc...
  • Meredith Z
    Life is amazing because it is ever-changing. There are the obvious and noticeable variations, like the four seasons and wrinkles on my face. But there are also the imperceptible changes, like my ever-morphing perceptions of myself and others, and on a larger scale, the Chandler wobble of the earth. I find these processes intriguing and compelling.
  • Susan McLeod
    I love the rolling green grass and dogwoods blooming in Virginia, where we went to visit our relatives last weekend. The birdsong is amazing - first thing in the morning it sounds like it is amplified.
  • eric
    A fresh blanket of snow over the earth.
  • Gregory Flores
    Getting up early enough to catch a different version of the position of the sun.
  • Joel
    I dig a girl. Met her one month ago. She smells like creativity. We laugh.
  • I think back to when I was a child, when I would invision my life and what I would surround myself with. My childhood friends and I would argue about the nice cars we would drive, the exotic places we would live and the beautiful women we would marry. I grew up believing in these ideas, then one day it occurred to me, everything I enjoy in my life has nothing to do with the childhood ideals I once had. I want to build my life on the fly and collect as many experiences and opportunities as I can. I realized in that moment that there is a huge difference between what I "want" and what I "need". And right now what I "need" is to keep living and keep discovering the World. Discovering something new every day makes me the happiest.
  • lyndal kearney
    Every day is a gift and new beginning. If you didnt like yesterday then today is fresh and new. And if you did like yesterday then you should check out today - it's a corker!
  • Amy
    The uncontrollable laughter of a child! Nothing clears everything from you better.
  • yeah man, well spoken. remember on Moser Lane when your mom asked if it is was clear, then you said "Yup,,,,, except for that huge truck!" hahaha, n8 the copilot! I loved her driving gloves too. If we didnt' have our crazy parents, we would be boring dickheads!
  • Sunny days and sparkly snail-trails on sidewalks.
  • Clean air, blue skies, sunshine,the mountains, the ocean,rainy days, and sleep.
  • Music that gives you goosebumps. Style that is fresh. Landing a perfect tre flip. Hugging my girl before I start my day. The colorful people that walk the streets of San Francisco. Hanging on by a thread. Not knowing what the future holds. Home cooked meals. Flying cross country to see my family. Friends! The sun!!!
  • Daan Vanheel
    Watching someone you love, sitting next to you, without her noticing, at the movies.
  • running into people you haven't seen in years.
  • I think my favourite thing has got to be that moment when you realize that you have shared something pretty special with someone you hadn't met before, yet they seem like an old, dear friend.
  • I dig that life keeps delivering the unexpected. Without fail. I dig that I experience the daily miracle of walking the earth and that when my eyes are wide open I know that I live in Nirvana.
  • I love that we humans have vivid and powerful imaginations, and that many positive things we once imagined are now real, and that this phenomenon will continue for as long as we all live.
  • Marc
    my niece's giggle
  • Life is beautiful with more coffee and better beer. Cheers!
  • Belinda
    Coloured flags make me happy.
  • life is beautiful because i don't understand it.
  • Amanda
    What's not to like about life? Funny that when you actually have to start pinpointing things, you get enough to fill a page, if not more...

    Sun shining through the window when you wake up, rain when you're going to sleep, a proper letter or postcard, a song that takes you back, a song that lifts you up, sitting around my dinner table just observing old and new friends eating, talking, laughing, going on a trip, coming home after a trip, seeing teenagers flirt, seeing old people flirt, surprising myself by flirting, finding a discarded piece of furniture on the street that's perfect for your place, finding money you didn't know you had in a coat pocket you haven't used for a long time, telling a story and the punch line is so spot on that you get the whole table laughing, the comfortable silence you get with true friends, hearing kids talk about the future with the absolute conviction that they'll see their goal through...I could go on...

    However, my favourite part about life (apart from writing essays extolling it) are all the random strangers you encounter in life! Not in the strangers are just friends you don't know way but people you will never meet or interact with again and their ability to reach through to you when they have nothing to gain - with a kind word or gesture or even a smile - and the realisation that sometimes that's all it takes to change the day for the better!
  • daniel
    i love that life is full of possibilities, you just have to have a good outlook
    peace and love
  • I love to dance, total free movement, where I loose myself and something else takes over, sweating, heart bounding, or quiet, slow, close to stillness, but still in the moment. It opens me, and that opens me, more to life and love...aaah it's good!
  • Unexpected opportunities and phone calls from my niece! Oh, and peanut butter. Life wouldn't be worth living without PB.
  • My favorite part of life is that there's always something new around the corner. That's what I love about traveling ... the journey, not the destination. And my wife is always making me laugh. I don't know what I would do without her.
  • Jori
    I love that the prospect of drawing pictures all day makes me excited about being laid off.
  • i love knowing spring has arrived by smelling the first round of fresh cut grass
  • noelle
    i love laughing with my mom and dad.
  • OHH Nate, estas viviendo en Argentina??? O es solo por vacations? That sounds great!! What a subjet!! I love it!!
    Definitive my little daughter and every face's child are my inspiration!! They are so pure, so happy, so smart... they only live the moment. I hope to learn more of them.
    The hope is my destiny right now. Hope for a better place to live, don't you belive that is posible? Yes!!! More often I found people that live with hope. And that is wonderful. (sorry about my inglish I'll prefer write you in spanish) :P
    Un abrazo!
    Zime

    PD, Thanks for that wonderful giveaway!!!!
  • i totally dig riding my bike.
  • I dig Finlay, my dog.
  • i dig life because it could always be better the next day.
  • life... is beauty, is sadness, is my son, is my husband, is sunshine, is a freshly vaccuumed house, is joy, is peanut butter, is sleeping in, is getting up early, is a dog running, is a horse running, is moms is dads is babies is family is we are all one is love.
  • oh, wow! seashells, eucalyptus pods and red wine from spain make me happy right now. and spring!
  • What a beautiful tribute to your amazing Mother. What I dig about life are the really small unexpected things that catch my attention and take my mind off the big things that make me feel overwhelmed... like yesterday, stopping to watch several fat bees gathering nectar from the thousands of rich pink blossoms on my crab apple tree; being surprised by a low flying hot air balloon looking for a place to land in the fields behind my home; rolling over on the couch and finding myself nose to nose with my sweet dog Mo who was sitting next to me, quietly keeping vigil.
  • I love life because my husband smells like sawdust when he comes home, because I got new penny loafers, because a chickadee flew into my office, because there are always wrinkley clothes that I can iron, because my family makes me laugh and smile.
  • I dig my new daughter, my wife, making music, water and trees and mountains, and friends.

    Rad and joyous image... Keep up the great work N8.

    David (aka Safetybear)
  • i love that life is always changing, and it never has to be the same if you don't want it to be!
  • Nate, I love what you said about your mother and her unconventional way of looking at life. It reminds me of my mom- one of the funniest people I know.

    What is good: taking the dogs for a walk and watching their uncompromising, relentless happiness and curiosity.
  • I love her dress. I love the colors. Oh and it's an alright message as well. Kidding. It's such a wonderful message. It would be nice to get one and frame it then be able to wake up to look at it everyday. If I don't get one of the free ones then I'll still be your friend. Ha ha.

    Ciao
    m
  • Life is lived best when we choose to give hope and new life to others.
  • Seeing everything for the first time again through my newborn son's eyes. I'm taking the time to observe life in it's smallest details with him and loving it.
  • We can do things that live on after we're dead. We can risk and reflect. We can share light and life with others.
  • i love that in my life, spending time considering what I love most about life just might get me a free poster.
  • Waking up next to my wife each morning is beautiful. She defines how I see the world and who I am. Thanks Nate. this is a wonderful piece.
  • Vanessa Harvey
    What I love about life is that I can shave my legs every day with no blood cause someone thought about it!

    Kisses to my favorite Nate

    Vanessa
  • Anna Wilkinson
    I LOVE TANGO!!!! I love the music, love moving to the music in the embrace of another. I'm all glowy and my nerve endings are vibrating for hours afterward. It's a beautiful thing.
  • I love that every person, place and thing has the potential to bring you joy!!!
  • Omar Mendez
    designing and thinking for a living.
  • Grant coghill
    For me, being lost in a unfamiliar landscape or city, figuring it all out bit by bit and absorbing the experience very slowly. That little side street cafe or dark tavern you'd never normally visit might just hide a person that you will never forget...
  • Ted Halbur
    Love: The heart of a child.

    Reason: While dying Easter eggs with my 4 year old son he began cry profusely, so I asked him what is wrong and he replyed "I don't want to kill the eggs". I don't think I can ever "die" Easter eggs again without smiling about that.
  • Bo
    amazing poster!

    What I love about life is never knowing what amazing thing you're going to see next. Just a small decision to turn your head up to look at the sky could end up being one of the best decisions if you do it at the right time. I remember I was walking on campus and I decided to turn to the right, only to notice an adorable rabbit hopping about (something I never see here). It's definitely all about the small things :)
  • Big Bad Brittany
    I'm really diggin' dobermans and dingoes.

    I'm also diggin' dirt, but not just any dirt - it has to be from the damp patch in front of Dyson Lab (my college's dormitory computer lab) it makes a dynomite texture that I've been using for a couple of my drawings.
  • Nicolas Ortega
    Good design and good books made my day.
  • I love the sound of birds chirping after a long Canadian winter. It makes me feel like Snow White, and all of the city's animals are waking me up!
  • Many things really: receiving a call from an old friend I had lost the contact with, knowing that I know the only infallible recipe against hiccups, having a stomach ache in the middle of the night an realizing that I have a forgotten can of coke on the fridge, listening from people that I have lost weight, learning that a stray dog has found a home... It is important to find happiness in the smallest tinny things...

    (Oh, I really want this illustration, I love it as much as I love any of yours, that would definitely make me happy) :O)
  • Soroya Rowley
    Opposable thumbs.
  • Ben
    The morning bike ride to work.
  • Life is beautiful because there are people like you in the world Nate. I already have some wonderful prints which you gave me so it would be fairer if I was not included in the prize draw.
    Un abrazo.
  • meg
    What makes me happy:

    Seeing the animals in my neighborhood whom I've named because I recognize them (like a brown pigeon, the only one in the area, I dubbed Josephine).

    Inhaling smells from outside that take me back to different times in my past.

    The future, and daydreaming.
  • One of the main things that I love about life is the variables of experienced. Certain things happen every day - make the coffee, do the dishes, go to work, etc. But the variables - seeing a kid wave at you from the back seat of a car, someone holding a door open for you, staring down a squirrel for five minutes in your backyard - make each day special.
  • Chris Williams
    Life is Beautiful because it is simultaneously one group experiment, and a fantastic endless ride. At times we are decisive and cause waves; at others, we ride the waves with all of humanity.
  • Waking up and listening to the Kukulis that I honestly don't know if you have in Argetina. They say mourning doves are the same but I honestly I think they are lying to me. They woke me up everyday the first 25 years of my life.

    PD - Me encanta tu trabajo :)
  • My kids make me appreciate the small beauties in life. They draw the minute details we all miss to the forefront...and make the previously mundane something cool again.
  • It's the corniest thing I've ever said or written, but what I dig is my family and friends, they truly are everything that I care for. The rest is just topping.
  • Jessica Blank
    When I get home from work there are always three dogs with their faces pressed against the gaps in the fence waiting for me to get out of the car and take them on a walk. We run through the woods behind my house, roll in the mud, sniff box turtles, watch slugs crawl up trees, I take photos of leaf buds and new mushrooms popping up, sometimes we just nap in the sunshine, and all the stress of that day melts away and I'm happy.
  • Love it , another great illiustration from the fabo Nate!! who wouldn't want this!
  • Hi Nate!
    My fervor for life comes from years of being ill and finally being able to live a semi-normal existence. Being virtually healthy from a kidney transplant, I am living my dream, by painting everyday. Life can be a beautiful thing.
  • I love life because I can count on Molly.
  • i dig the fact that everydays a new day, a chance to start fresh and if you maintain the positive mental attitude...nothin' can stop you.
  • Beautiful illustration. Your mother sounds like a wonderful person.

    My two little girls fill my life with joy, so I'll have to say that they are what makes my life beautiful in so many ways, big and small. My 4 year old has is energetic, playful and imaginative. She reminds me a lot of myself as a child and makes me want to be a kid again. My 2 year old is affectionate, but also strong tempered when the mood arises. But, most of the time she's smiling and playing and just enjoying her innocent life. They give me a reason to live and inspire me to be more optimistic about the world, even if it gets a little more than scary out there.
  • Unstructured time spent with my wonderful wife makes me happier than I ever thought possible. Wether we are on vacation, exploring new places in our own neck of the woods, or simply sitting together doing nothing in particular, I am happy simply existing with her.
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