Princess Dress Gallery Canvas Print

This painting was inspired by the time I found my daughter standing in the lake while wearing her princess dress. 

I stood there, in stunned silence, as the supercomputer in my brain whizzed through its vast database in search of some rule frowning upon the intermingling of lakes and princess dresses. But with the warm smile beaming widely across her face and the sun setting behind her, I realized that Lucy was living life as well as it could possibly be lived.

Too often, we fall far short of this ideal. Why?

Because we’re afraid of getting our princess dress wet.

And we all have one. Our “princess dress” is the carefully-curated version of ourselves that we show off to others. It’s the way we look, speak, and act. It’s our degree and our job title, our home and hairstyle, our cars, clothes, and 401ks, all wrapped into one pretty package and tied with a bow that signifies that we are responsible, sophisticated, and successful.

In order to keep this princess dress looking good, we must live a life of restraint. No full-out running, no sitting on the ground, no eating messy things, and certainly no swimming in lakes.

We are given countless opportunities to dive headfirst into the experience of life, but we are too afraid to mess up our hair, our clothes, or our reputation. Because running through puddles, making a mess, or doing something silly for the sheer sake of fun sullies the dress we’ve worked so hard to preserve.

While settling for good enough, we miss the insanely great.

Guess what? After the dip in the lake, Lucy’s princess dress went into the washing machine and came out… good as new.

Fear does a pretty good job of keeping us from living an amazing life. But it’s a horrible predictor of the future.

Don’t settle for dipping your toes into this adventure called life. For best results, spend more of your time up to your armpits in awesome.

Don’t be afraid to get your princess dress wet.

product details

This colorful artwork by Jason Kotecki comes in a variety of sizes.

16"x20" and 24"x30" Gallery Canvas. The fade-resistant canvas print is sure to make a statement in any space. It's a durable, satin-finished canvas hand-stretched on locally sourced wood frames. It features archival inks, black edges, and comes ready to hang.

30"x30" Original Painting. Available here.