February Vision Portrait

February's Vision Portrait started with an image I already had. I was leading a class and needed a new portrait and this one seemed like a good fit. 

I started out with some chalk pastels on the face and then added some oil pastel flames on the forehead. Then I moved onto magazines for collage. 

The class I was leading was a shortened class and only had 40 minutes of art time. The above picture is what I completed at the end of that class. 

Here is another progress shot. Adding more and more color and texture was so fun and the time seemed to fly by.

I couldn't stop. Eventually I was left with just my eyes and a riot of bursting color. So fun!

Here is a little close up of the hot side. So much goodness going on. 

And here is a close up of the cool side. 

I am loving these Vision Portraits. 

January Painting Journey

My favorite kind of painting is Intuitive Painting. I love to start with no idea where I am going or what I am doing. Just playing around with colors and and seeing what emerges. 

It's especially fun when you add some of your own custom made stamps. 

It always amazes me how something can start out one way and take such a dramatic shift. 

When I am painting I am tapped into my emotions and if something starts to feel a bit constrictive I want to stay very present to that feeling and let it amplify and move through me.

Zooming in you can see a lot of scratching and etching into the paint at this layer. This was in reaction to the strong emotions I had. I spent a lot of time at this layer allowing it all to come through and out.

And then there was something more. I saw a face and I knew it needed to come through. Gently, slowly I brought her forward 

At each step I asked what it was she needed and I kept listening and adding 

In the end it was begging for light and play. Fun little flowers, dashes of color and a whole lot of light heartedness. 

When I work in this way I never know what I am going to get but I always get what I need. 

Art is Powerful

I believe art is powerful! I don’t mean just looking at a piece of art. I mean the process of creating art for just for the sake of the process. When you let go of all the rules and expectations of creating art and tune into the creative flow that is there for everyone you tap into an amazing power like you’ve never known. 

Sometimes I use art just to get my energy flowing, to step into creative flow, to play and have fun. Yesterday I was feeling like I was in a bit of a funk. I felt blah and crabby and I decided to use art to help shift my mood. 

I taped up a sheet of paper onto the wall and turned on an album I have of chakra music. I used the corresponding color as each song played and I just expressed myself in those colors. No rules. No expectations. Just energy on a page. 

When I finished, I felt better. I knew I had tapped into something but yet I still felt like something was missing. I wasn't complete. 

I got out my notebook and started writing. I wrote about how I was feeling and what I wanted and got out some more junky junk and then I set my intention. I was drawn to a dark black oil pastel and I just slowly started making lines and shapes. I had no idea what I was doing, I only did what felt right in the moment.

I knew I had to get out the white paint  so I did. I started playing with blocking out some of those shapes. I added some other colors and kept playing. I found it so interesting how different the energy was at this point than it had been earlier. 

I continued on adding lines, dots and other colors. I love the way the bright chakra colors shine through and move across the page. It seems raw, pure and full of joy.

When the painting itself felt complete I got out my trusty notebook and once again spent some time writing and getting insight about the process, the art and how I was feeling. 

In the past I might never want to share such an "unfinished" piece of art because I was focused on the idea of creating art that had to look a certain way but I now fully embrace Freedom Art™ which is all about throwing away the rules and following your intuition. It is about using art as a tool to get in touch with your inner wisdom, healing your soul and creating a life that makes you shine. 

If you would like to try out Freedom Art™ head over to my website. You can sign up for a free ebook called, Take Back Your Life with Freedom Art™ which will also get you on the mailing list for updates on new classes that are offered in my studio. 

Creative Framing for Process Art

When making process art the idea is not to be concerned with making a finished art piece. The idea is to get lost in the process of making something, to dive into the creative process with wild abandon, choosing colors that are calling you, making lines and shapes that want to be made. 

You can see that this drawing would be difficult to frame. It is uneven and strangely shaped with tears in the paper. 

Not every piece you make is going to be frame worthy and yet there is emotion and energy that was poured into the piece and you want to be able to save it. 

Of course you can crop it down to make it fit into a nice frame while keeping the image intact. 

How about a nice rectangle?

Or a Square

Another easy way to do it is to cut it up and frame parts of it. All you have to do is purchase a mat and move it around while looking for interesting parts that will make impactful art on their own.

I'm digging the beard

 I love how this part of the nose makes such a great abstract

The leaf really makes a statement

You can hang them in a series for maximum impact.

These would look amazing together 

So don't despair if your amazing process art experience leaves you with something you aren't happy with. 

Remember that the goal isn't to 

make "something." 

The goal is to 

"make" something. 

And with a little Creative Framing you can do both! 

;o)

The Gift

I have not always been very good at dealing with my emotions. After years of ignoring them and shutting them down sometimes I still have a difficult time even fully recognizing how I am feeling in the moment. 

Process art has become a doorway to allow me to tap in, recognize, and then release bound up emotions. 

On this particular day, I was feeling out of sorts. Emotions were swirling around and I didn't know what to do with them. I decided scribbling was the answer. 

I taped a large poster board to the wall and grabbed two graphite pencils, one for each hand. I approached the paper and simply placed my forehead on the middle of the page and began to scribble with both hands. 

I scribbled and scribbled with varying degrees of fury. I scribbled through tears and I scribbled through fears. Anger raised its head and sorrow lowered it. Every ounce of emotion that I was holding onto traveled through my hands, into those pencils and onto the paper. 

When I felt complete I lifted my head from the wall and stepped back and I was shocked and amazed to see a heart so clearly left where my head had rested. 

When I started I had no intention to paint. I simply wanted to scribble with pencil and now here I was, standing in front of this pencil sketch and I KNEW it needed to be painted. 

As always, I followed my intuitive urge and chose the paint color. I was a little surprised to want white but I honored what I was feeling and let go. 

It wasn't long before the cool colors were calling my name. I played with one of my favorite colors, Prussian Blue and livened it up with sky blue and a cool shade of purple. 

I just kept playing and adding colors. Allowing fun lines to appear. 

Pink is my go to color when I am feeling love. The heart was ready to be painted and what better color to use than pink?

And then it was as if fireworks were going off. Every color was alive and dancing on the page. it had energy and was expressing exactly how I was feeling in the moment...alive and grateful. 

There is typically a point in my creation process where I get lost in the moment and forget to take pictures. This was that point. 

I continued to paint and add what the painting was asking for and in the end I was left with this soft, garden of love. 

When you lose yourself in the process of intuitive creation, you fall in love with your art. It holds a very special place in your heart. You almost feel like a mother loving your creation and this painting evoked these feelings in me,. It was the culmination of a powerful emotional journey that I was fortunate enough to be part of. 

Without going through every phase of this process and allowing myself to fully feel all of the constricting emotions, this painting doesn't have the same power. It is surrendering to the truth of the moment that fuels the process and allows something unique and sacred to emerge. 

What a gift!

Art Has Energy

Every time I create something I set an intention for that piece. To me, art is meant to inspire something deep inside, to shift something and heal something. So when I set an intention it is to help me uncover something about myself or the world around me.

I want to feel something!

I want to change something!

I want to learn something!

Having an intention is like having an end game in mind. It's like picking your next vacation spot. Once you set your intention you just sit back and play, knowing that the journey will get you to your destination.  

I create art for myself. I focus on the process and I don't worry about whether someone likes it or doesn't. I am always so grateful when someone gets meaning out of something for themselves and I know that we are all so unique that everyone will see something completely different but that isn't what drives my creative process.  

This is what I teach when I am working with others. 

The amazing thing is when you allow yourself to jump into the creative pool in this way you are stepping into a powerful energetic flow. You allow the energy to express itself through you onto the page. 

Each piece has a "feel" to it. When you look at it you have a recognition of the energy that was accessed to create that piece. 

Even when it's "only a collage" or when it isn't "beautiful art" it has power. It allows you to move your energy, clear out blocks, and gain a deeper perspective about your inner world. 

Art is your own form of energy healing and it is so fun!