I THINK I CAN I THOUGHT I COULD

As children, many in Hubby’s generation first encountered the power of positive thought through The Little Engine That Could. In the story, a small blue engine pulls a broken-down train filled with toys and food for children over a mountain, after several larger and more capable engines refuse to help. Despite her size, she perseveres with the repeated phrase “I think I can,” ultimately delivering the cargo and discovering that she is capable of far more than she imagined. Her optimism, effort, and perspective transform impossibility into triumph.

This painting channels that lesson into a visual incantation. I THINK I CAN marches in yellow across raw linen like a steady climb, until it resolves into I THOUGHT I COULD—the arrival at accomplishment. The rhythm of the words echoes persistence, determination, and the golden magic of self-belief.

By painting the mantra at human scale, Hubby turns a children’s parable into an adult reminder. To stand before it is to be nudged out of doubt and back into motion—toward yes, toward focus, toward success. Placed in a home, studio, or office, it becomes a companion presence: an engine of encouragement humming on your walls, reminding you that momentum is built thought by thought.

Part of the series "Inside Job"

2020–2023 The series Inside Job was completed over the pandemic when we all were separated and had the opportunity to look inside our homes and our heads. Hubby sought out some mind release (from the Sanskrit, mantra translates into man, meaning mind, and tra, meaning release). “Breathing in, I know I am breathing in. Breathing out, I know I am breathing out.” is a quote from Thich Nhat Hanh, which aims to keep one in the present moment. “Every Day in every way I’m getting better and better” is the famous phrase from French psychologist, Émile Coué, who changed the face of psychotherapy with the Coué Method of Autosuggestion. Coué stated: “Whenever attention is concentrated on an idea over and over again, it spontaneously tends to realize itself.” Another painting reads: “May we be happy, may we be well, may we be safe, may we be peaceful and at ease,” which is the traditional Buddhist Loving Kindness Meditation (Metta Prayer). 

"These paintings are on canvases that are my exact width and height, further underscoring Mahatma Gandhi’s message, that when you want to change the world, start with yourself."

-Bettina

Original artwork by Bettina Hubby 

Gouache on Linen

64" x 17"

2021