 January marks 13 years since I quit my corporate job at a Vancouver law firm to create art full-time. It was one of the scariest and most necessary decisions I have ever made. It's been a rich, fascinating journey, ripe with opportunities to learn, and stretch into areas of myself I never thought possible. Painting continues to be my companion, my mirror, my teacher and my friend. I am so thankful for my family, friends, clients and students who have supported my journey. I am grateful for you & I celebrate you!  Lesson #1: Begin where you are, with what you have Lesson #2: Make art about your life Lesson #3: Find inspiration in all of nature, including decay Lesson #4: Revisit the same themes over and over again (but also keep experimenting) Lesson #5: Devote your life to making art, never stop  Damn, is this really my first post of 2021? Yes, it is! There is a time to bite your tongue and be quiet. But there is also a time to speak. Quite honestly, I have an extremely hard time distinguishing between the two. It's gotten me into a lot of trouble in past relationships, when I felt something wasn't right, but did not say anything for fear of hurting others. I am reminded of a quote by one of the world's greatest teachers, Mahatma Gandhi: “Be gentle, truthful and fearless.” So here it is: "The Trouble with Self-Taught Artist":  New Year, New Energy, New Power! It's official! I just signed a contract to teach a 5-day painting & meditation retreat in Costa Rica on November 14 -19, 2021 at Imiloa Institute. Will you be there? In 2015, after a radical change in relationships, diet, geography, and several months of intensive yoga teacher training, I uncovered that I wanted to teach a painting retreat in Costa Rica. Foolishly, I cast this dream aside because I thought I had all the time in the world. My father's unexpected death earlier this year brought a lot of things to the surface for me. More than ever, I became intimately aware of how short our time here really is. As a result, I began to honestly analyze my soul's deepest yearnings, and my life's unique purpose. I recognize that my creativity blesses lives, the universe is abundant (and loves expansion!), and that the time to check things off my "bucket list" is now. Yes, even during a pandemic. Offering this retreat is a dream come true for me, and I am thrilled to share this joy with you. Thank you for your encouraging messages, and to all of those who answered my "call" to bring this dream to a reality.  New painting! A large-scale commission painting for a very special client. The client saw a small painting I posted to Instagram, and commissioned me to paint a similar, much larger rendition. The new moon comes early for me this month! A reminder, and an invitation to set deliberate intentions; sowing them just like the way we would sow seeds in a garden. Nurturing, trusting and allowing the process to eventually sprout, root and grow.  What we think about is a preview of what's to come. I honestly believe that the mind is that powerful. This is a feeling universe. We create not only what we think about - we create what we feel.  Painting a commissioned painting is both an honor and a privilege . I delight in creating a custom piece tailor made to suit a client's home. I begin the process with gratitude and I get really, really excited about the blank canvas. It's full of infinite possibility! I trust that the process will evolve effortlessly as a result of aligning myself with the creative flow.  The way I navigate the canvas is the way I navigate my life. Painting is a catalyst for coming into alignment. Even if you don't consider yourself an artist, or particularly creative, I still believe painting can do wonders for you! Painting introduces you to yourself. The decisions you make on the canvas are in tandem with the way you make decisions in your daily life. Don't believe me?  It's inevitable. We paint who we are. I am so excited about this large-scale painting! Navigating this surface today to find the balance and the beauty between areas of calm and distress, feels to me like a kind of moving mediation. Breathing, observing, allowing, embracing and letting go of what I think "should be" vs "what is". What do you think about this? |
