A few months ago if you told me that I could call myself a Tarot artist, I would have laughed until my stomach hurt. I sure as hell don’t have the time to create 78 original works of art, let alone the knowledge or expertise to figure out how to package and publishing a Tarot deck.
And yet, today I can say that I am, indeed a Tarot artist. Only, I’m not creating 78 cards {at least not yet!}.
In our quest to be far away from the maddening crowd, we visited some truly stunning, less touristy places in Kashmir. The one that really stood out for me is Doodhpathri, which is still being developed and promoted by the Jammu and Kashmir tourist board. Located in the Budgam district, it is a roughly 3 hour drive from Srinagar. And what a drive it is! There are some breath-taking valley views and lots of cute little villages along the way. In fact, the entire route is dotted with rivers and streams and small, tinkling waterfalls.
Winding roads, Doodhpathri, Kashmir
I start each morning with a moment of mindfulness, spending some time with a simple question and a single card drawn from my Tarot deck.
Each morning the cards reflect back a nugget of wisdom – it could be a simple reminder telling me to stay focused on the task at hand; a not-so-subtle push to stop day dreaming and start doing already; or an indication of a broader energy that I may need to work with during the day.
For today’s daily Tarot pull, I sat with this simple question:
What do I need to know about personal transformation?
When I drew the card and wrote down the message in my Tarot journal, I immediately knew that this was something that needed to be shared. Continue reading
April seemed to rush by in a bit of a haze. When I wasn’t thinking about work, I was focusing on the A to Z Challenge – creating videos (so fun and also so annoying), writing the few posts that I hadn’t managed to pre-schedule, blog hopping and finding interesting new blogs to follow – just writing it all out has me exhausted! But now that April is over, it’s time to say hello to May! Which means it’s time for…
Remember, this is a general reading, and my intention with this one was: What do my blog readers need to know most in May.
This three card reading looks at our blessing, challenges and how we can make the most of the month ahead.
Rainbow colored animals, bright happy colors, make believe world, fairies and mermaids, gnomes and elves, monsters and angels – that in a nutshell is whimsical art. Most whimsical artists produce light, airy, happy pieces of art that are meant to fill the viewer up with joy.
But it isn’t all glitter and fairy dust in whimsical land. There are also dark, brooding monsters and sinister characters – like the Corpse Bride and Tim Burton’s more gothic whimsical style.
Whimsical artists play firmly in the field of imagination – flowers with a human face, unicorns, phoenix girls, centaurs – it’s all about the quirky. Continue reading
For a long time, I simply did not understand the importance of building up layers in art journals. I looked at mixed media artists with astonishment. Why would they do that, I’d wonder, as they put down beautiful scrapbook paper on the page, only to hide it under gesso and layers of paint. Or I’d watch in utter fascination as they laid down beautiful doodles and stamps and stencils, and then again hid it under layers and layers of paint.
But why? Those looked like complete paintings too!Continue reading
I hear ya – you’re busy, what with work, home, socializing, blogging…all the other roles, responsibilities, and activities that make up your day. Where and how will you find the time to make art, you wonder?
What if I told you to take out just 10 minutes a day? You know you can do it – after all, we spend a lot more than that mindlessly scrolling through our Twitter and Facebook timelines!
But can you really create an art journal page in 10 minutes a day?Continue reading
Fear of paint, of art, of creativity is something I’ve come across over and over again. People constantly say they can’t paint, or they can’t draw. But I say that everyone can paint. Yes, everyone.
Think back to your childhood – chances are that painting and drawing were your favorite pastimes. But as you grew older, you suddenly started thinking that you cannot paint.
Why?Continue reading
When I think of plein air painting, I think of the impressionists and my absolute favorite artist in the whole wide world, Claude Monet.
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Water Lilies and Japanese Bridge, Claude Monet
