Step by Step, Part 1

I am working on a new painting, which feels like a real break through moment for me. I am really excited about how it is progressing, and wanted to share that with you. So for the first time I am showing a step-by step of my painting process.

Random bits of tissue paper are attached with gel medium.

 

 

I wrote out the quote "I feel a nameless sadness oer me roll"

,

The ugly phase! Thanks Juliette Crane for helping me get comfortable with this part.

Start over with an entire new colour palette, much happier now! Add some stencils & drips.

Add more drips and some swirly bubbles and I could leave it here as an abstract piece quite happily.

And that is my background done. The lessons for me in this part of the painting were to move quickly, not over-think the process, and to trust that the ugly phase is just temporary ;)

In part two I will show you my first two-headed princess monster!

Hope you are having a beautiful day!

Bloom!

Hello lovely people,

Just popping in today to show you the Bloom Trilogy, currently on display (and for sale!) at Caffe Divano in Port Moody. The titles for these pieces were inspired by the lovely Flora Bowley, an inspiring painter from whom I hope to one day take a workshop. She recently lead a week of painting in Bali, and I was drooling over the photos Kelly Rae Roberts posted on her blog of the trip! Anyhow, onto the paintings:

Bloom True

BloomWild

Bloom Free

Each of these canvases measures 12x36 inches, and they are for sale at $250 each.

Thanks for popping by!

What to do in case of Gremlin attack

Gremlins are assholes. Yes, that's right auto-correct, I said asshole, not as shoal or as soles.

Kelly's art on the wall by my art desk

Today is one of those days, when I sit down to paint and I think I totally suck. I hate these days. They suck all the life and joy out of something that I normally love to do. And it is not a coincidence that the gremlins are attacking now. Because today I am not just playing in my art journal or sketching or working on backgrounds. Today I am finishing some paintings for my first "real" art show. Real as in, it's not a coffee shop that I have a few pieces on the wall, it's a "real" art studio/gallery, where "real" artists have shown their work. So the stakes here are obvious. I have to not suck at this. It can't just be fun. I have to be a serious artist now. Right?

Well, as it turns out, no. In a moment of grace and serendipity, I logged on to Facebook and saw a message that one of my favorite artists, Kelly Rae Roberts, would be having a live chat where she would answer any and all questions at 2pm. And it just happened to be 2pm. So I asked her (super successful artist with multiple licensing deals, has taught many courses, published books, etc) if she ever had days like that. And she said yes. So right away this makes me feel better. So I asked what does she do when this happens, and here is her response :

YES, i have days where i don't feel like my art is any good. 
My best practice for those days is to PRETEND like I'm just having fun, experimenting, and that the outcome doesn't even matter. In those instances, i have way more fun, and take way more risks. 
The more risks = more fun = better work = soul filling.

It's pretty awesome to be able to talk to one of your role models and find out that what you are going through is just part of the process. So I tell myself I need to lighten up here and return to the playful, creative impulses that urge me to paint in the first place. Also, I tell myself that Gremlins are assholes, and I shouldn't listen to them. I make myself a reminder in case I forget:

And then I go back to work.

My art exhibit is next week!

Wow, this is the real deal! Now that the flyers have been printed, it's official that I am having my first real art exhibit alongside my talented husband. I have been painting like a mad woman for the last few weeks to create a collection for this show. It has been a crazy, inspiring, stressful, exciting experience already, and it is just getting to crunch time now.

I have thought of the past few years as art school for myself. I took every e-course, read every book and magazine, watched every online tutorial I could get my hands on. And so this show feels like a graduation of sorts. I continue to study, I know I always will, but I am beginning to trust myself a little more. I am finding my voice. I am declaring to the world out loud, "I am an artist." What an incredible leap of faith. What a terrifying jump.

So as I embark on this exciting and scary new path, I would like to thank all the teachers I have learned from for the last few years, for so graciously sharing their skill and wisdom through their blogs, books and online courses. Each of these women has inspired me beyond measure.

Kim Klassen

Kelly Rae Roberts

Donna Downey

Roben Marie Smith

Lori Portka

Juliette Crane

One thing I have learned is that the online art community is so full of generous women, who are willing to give so much of their time and talent to help other artists on their path. I am so grateful. Now, on to planning my opening!

desire

Sometimes you are lucky enough to read something that totally shifts the way you look at the world. I just finished reading Danielle La Porte's The Fire Starter Sessions, and since I started reading it I haven't shut up about it. Because I have spent a lot of time in my life thinking I should be organizing my life one way and it never really felt right, but I didn't know a better way.

I used to be a planner. Not because I really wanted to, but because everything I read said "Make your 5 year plan. Set your action items. Remember to set measurable goals with timelines." And so I did all those things, but it never felt like me. It felt like I was playing at being someone else. It felt like I spent my life waiting to achieve these goals, and not enjoying the present.

I started to shift my focus when my first son was born towards more joy in my life (I recently wrote about that HERE in my post on selfish kindness). I started focusing more on what made me happy, and tried to fill my days with more of that. My husband and I read Smart Couples Finish Rich, which helped us define our family priorities for spending our time and money. And the more I focused on these things, the more I felt like I was becoming aligned with my true self, like I was living a more authentic life.

Around that time I started this blog, and it became an outlet for me to explore what was clearly my main focus: living an artful life. Finding a way to make my life meaningful and beautiful in every aspect. Being my creative self, whatever form that might take, and trying not to worry so much about where it was all going.

But still I felt a dis-connect for me when it came to goal setting. Because I have big dreams. I want to affect change in the world in a big way, and I want to use my art to do that. But I couldn't find a way to think about tackling these big dreams without getting caught up in this framework that felt really soul-sucking to me.

I picked up the Fire Starter Sessions after I had read about it on at least five different blogs that I follow. Sometimes you just get beat over the head with something, and eventually you have to give in. What I read that really blew my mind is this:

First, get clear on how you want to feel. Then, do stuff that makes you feel that way.

What I had learned about joy from watching my baby was the real deal. All I needed to do was focus on what I really wanted to feel, and then find a way to make that happen, every day.

connected

purposeful

joyful

grounded

inspired

These are the things I want from my life. And the more I center my days around what Danielle calls my "core desired feelings", the more I feel my life taking the shape that I want, the clearer I get on how I can be who I want to be, and achieve some of those big dreams, in a way that feels authentic.

I recently had the chance to hear Danielle speak in Vancouver, and I wrote down this quote of hers, which expresses this concept so beautifully: "Your desire is your prayer." When she said that, I felt a deep YES! inside me. Our desires are sacred. Our dreams are sacred. There is no higher work than learning to listen to and honor them.

In the last few weeks, despite suffering through some major baby-related sleep deprivation, I have had moments of pure joy. I have had a huge break-through in my art-making, where I am learning to trust myself and achieve that amazing feeling of flow as I let the muse work through me. And I feel this clarity of purpose that I have been wanting so badly. I am no longer defining myself by external markers of "success" or trying to plan out my measurable actions. I get up every day and I make sure I do what I love. And I get so much more accomplished that way!

Whether you have read the Fire Starter Sessions or not, I would love to hear your thoughts on this. What are your core desired feelings? How do you organize your days to honor your priorities?

More Passion in 2013!

You know how sometimes you start to get real clear about what you want to be doing in the world, and then BAM! stuff starts happening faster than you can say 2013? Well that is what has been happening to me. After reading through many other bloggers excellent word choices for 2013 I found the word that was calling to me was PASSION. 

I want to DANCE, and laugh with pure JOY and DELIGHT. I want to remember what it is like to feel FREE in my body. I want to have more CREATIVE COMMUNITY. I want to pursue only what really excites me, I want to feel brilliantly ALIVE and full of joy. I want to align my PASSION for KINDNESS work with the art that I am creating. 

I wrote down a few things that I really want to do this year, including:

*put together a collection of paintings to show

*have an art show, complete with fancy opening reception

*teach an art journaling workshop

*attend an art retreat weekend

*expand my online store
*find more ways to bring kindness into my home and community
*encourage my husband to make more art and to show his art

And no sooner had I written this list, than things started to come to me at lightening speed! Of course, as the universe has a way of playing with you, my entire household got sacked by a wicked cold, which has delayed me being able to get to work on this exciting new stuff, but I will have news soon!

One other area that I have been thinking about is this blog. I started writing two years ago, mainly to keep myself accountable to my goal of creating daily. It became a place to explore all the new mediums and techniques I was learning, and a way to connect to other creative people. But I want to choose some areas to focus on this year. So first off, I will be starting a series called Kindness Mama.

 
In this series, I will update you about ongoing kindness projects that I am undertaking, as well as feature some kindness printables and stories of kindness that I find online. There is such a fantastic online community of kindness, and that is something I really want to be a part of.

I will also be keeping you posted on new art in my Instagram Instant posts, giving little glimpses into what is on my art desk.

So that's a little bit of what I am planning for 2013. I am really excited about what this year has to teach me. I think it's going to be great!

Have you chosen your word for 2013 yet?

And do you have some goals you are excited about?

Please share, I would love to hear from you.

Have a beautiful day!

Instagram update: A few new pieces in progress...

We had a lovely holiday, filled with lots of un-scheduled days, which makes for great art time! Here's a peak at what I've been up to, Instagram style.

Early morning art play

life

Fairy Home in Progress

I haven't been on the blogosphere much this week, because I have been busy painting. Yay! I am very excited to show you these sneak peeks. This fairy and her house are coming along just like I had envisioned, so I'm pretty excited. I am also working on a couple of other paintings at the same time, so you can see why I haven't had much time to blog. 

I will post some more photos later this week.

Hope you are enjoying a beautiful sunny September like we are here on the west coast. It has been the most beautiful week of the year I think. Yesterday I took Gabe on the Great Shoreline Clean-up and we tromped around through the reeds looking for garbage.  It was a great way to spend a Saturday morning.

So on that note, be kind to your shoreline and have a beautiful day!

Make a House a Home

 

Continuing the theme of home for this week, and wondering what it is that makes a house a home to you? For me, it is that my house is a reflection of who I am. From the colours to the artwork and furnishing, every piece of my home tells the story of my life.

I loved this post by Stephey Baker at Marked by the Muse this week. Here's a quote that really stood out to me:

Part of being human is to create. We are all Artists in this sense.

We are all creating our masterpiece called LIFE.

I have spoken to so many people who say to me "Oh, I'm not creative" or "I'm not artistic." But isn't it true that we are all creating our lives? Whether we cook, garden, or paint to express ourselves, it is all part of the same creative energy.

So while we may not all be able to draw or paint the way we would like, we can all look at something in our home and ask ourselves, how can I make this reflect my beliefs, my values, my personality? And I think we all do this, which is why I always love seeing someone's home for the first time.

On this theme, tomorrow I'll share some of my favourite places in my home.

Until then, hope you are having a beautiful day:)

Be Yourself

Just a thought for today.

For me, being myself means:

*listening to that little voice

*noticing when I am not being genuine

*choosing to spend more time around people

who make me feel good about myself.

Living my own life means checking in

before I make a commitment to do something

and asking, 

will this bring more joy into my life?

Am I doing this because I want to 

or because I think I should?

What does it mean to you,

to be yourself?

My Days with You

In one year my little boy will start kindergarten.

And as our days together become numbered,

I find myself wanting to hold on to these

precious moments together.

Here is a little slice of my life right now.

Here is a little piece of my heart.

The Littlest Birds

Robins and chickadees are flitting about

my backyard right now, reminding me that

in spite of all the rain,

it is in fact summer.

This week's In the Sun course prompts

included the sounds of summer, so I was inspired

to use some lyrics from The Be Good Tanyas.

Here is a little more of the song:

Well it's times like these
I feel so small and wild
Like the ramblin' footsteps of a wanderin' child
And I'm lonesome as a lonesome whippoorwill
Singin these blues with a warble and a trill
But I'm not too blue to fly
No I'm not too blue to fly cause

The littlest birds sing the prettiest songs...

How lovely is that?

What sounds of summer are you hearing right now?

In the Sun: Summer Seduction

My neighbour Karen has the most amazing garden.

I have a secret to share:

I SUCK at gardening.

I know this is ironic

for someone who takes as many

photos of flowers as I do.

But as hard as I try,

gardening is not one of my talents.

Thankfully, there are people like Karen,

who plant beautiful poppies

for me to capture. 

When I read this quote,

I realized I had the perfect

photo to pair it with.

I'm posting this art journal page

which I created as part of the 

In the Sun

art journal course.

I love how many sites there are

creating artistic community online.

So much inspiration and education

available now at your fingertips!

So thanks Natalie for creating In the Sun,

I am so glad to have discovered it!

Then and Now: Victim to Survivor

Bonita Rose posted a brave and beautiful piece of work today on the topic of abuse.

In solidarity with her, and all the other men, women and children who have experienced emotional, physical, or sexual abuse in their homes, I wanted to post this dyptych that I created a few months ago. It is called Then and Now.

Wherever you are in your life, whether you are 12 or 42, know that no one, NO ONE has the right to make you feel unsafe, unlovable, or unworthy. You can choose to find good people who will treat you with respect and loving kindness. You can choose not to be a victim any longer, but to be a survivor. You can build the life that you should have been given. It will not be easy, and it will not be quick, but it is possible, and you DO deserve love, happiness, and above all, safety.

Your home should be a haven, not a hell. Your family should love and support you, not tear you down. And if they are not capable of that basic level of respect, then it is their problem, not yours.

This may be the life you were born into, but it does not have to be your life for always.

Peace and love,