On the first episode of season 4 of the Art with Soul podcast, we talk about different ways to approach the 100 day project; discuss process over product; and see how a gentle reframe of this popular challenge can help you develop your own visual language and style.
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“Solitude, like a long love, deepens with time, and, I trust, will not fail me if my own powers of creation diminish. For growing into solitude is one way of growing to the end.”
– May Sarton, The House By The Sea
The world isn’t designed for introverted, solitude loving people. For a long time, I thought there was something wrong with me, what with my hermity tendencies and my need for pockets of quiet time, especially after I’ve peopled.
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On this episode of the Art with Soul podcast, we talk about information overload, how it impacts your creativity and your art, and how to create healthy boundaries around how much information you consume vs how much you create. Let’s get into it!
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What a miracle you are
sweet little pea
pushing your way resolutely up
through that sidewalk crack.
There’s no one quite like you
in close vicinity —
you look around you
at all the sidewalks
and all the sidewalk cracks
as far as your eye can see.
You realize that you’re all alone
oh no, not alone — unique
swaying with the slight breeze
that swirls around your tiny leaves
beaming up at the sun
as it kisses your tiny petals
at the dog who walks around you
wondering at this tiny, fragile thing
that stands there so sure
so delighted at the simple joy
of being here
of being alive
of just being
Follow my art on Instagram!
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But how often are we willing to even acknowledge our bad habits; our insecurities and fears; our anxieties. How often do we stop and reflect on our inner voice, and on how mean it can be sometimes…oftentimes? How often do we justify our bad behavior by blaming someone else for the way we may have acted out? We have a choice in every moment: we can choose anger or acceptance; irritation or flow.
This does not mean we have to put up with bad behavior – it simply is about how we choose to react to it. We can respond to situations by ranting and raving; acting out in anger or irritation…and often, that is our default. Or we can calmly address the problem at hand, or assert our boundaries and simply walk away from someone else’s drama.Continue reading
I’ve been experimenting with abstract art recently, and it has been fun – challenging too, but fun. I find that I tend to slip back into slightly familiar territory when I am painting abstracts – adding in leaves, plants, flowers, or figures as a focal point and to try and bring everything together.
In this latest piece that I did, I was determined to keep it completely abstract, using only lines and shapes and color to tell a story. And what a story it turned out to be!Continue reading
I’m not much of a doodler, but when I am stressed, I find myself turning to Zentangles. It’s just so calming to put on some music and focus on creating intricate patterns.
You’re busy, you have NO time, and you have NO space. You have NO art skills and NO supplies.
{Don’t you think there are too many NOs here?}
Anyhow…. I am here you to tell you that YOU CAN STILL CREATE ART!
I painted this piece in a tiny 3.5×5″art journal using only watercolor pencils and some white paint and yellow acrylic ink in the last step to bring it all together. And I love how lose and abstract it looks.
I created it as part of a 7-day speed art Instagram challenge hosted by Eli Trier. Her original idea was to have challenge participants do each prompt on a different sheet of paper, as an exercise in learning how to loosen up and get over the fear of a blank page. I decided to combine all the daily prompts on one page {without even knowing what each day’s prompt would be}, and it turned into the perfect summer art project {you can see it evolve, step-by-step, on my Instagram account}.Continue reading
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
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