I changed my mind...
‘I am not now, that which I have been.’ ~ George Byron
One day I woke up.
I looked around me and asked... Is this my life?
And I answered... No, this is not my life! I change my mind...
One day I woke up.
I looked around me and asked... Is this my life?
And I answered... No, this is not my life! I change my mind...
‘The only way to change our lives is by changing our minds.’ ~ Ross Cooper
I wanted a beautiful life. 
So what would that look like?
I spent a lot of time dreaming and imagining...
I realized, if I want to experience something, I can always go there in my imagination.
So what would that look like?
I spent a lot of time dreaming and imagining...
I realized, if I want to experience something, I can always go there in my imagination.
A memory is just a memory. The past and future exist only in the imagination...
The imagination is powerful.
‘I am enough of an artist to draw freely upon my imagination.’ ~ Albert Einstein
Everything in my life is a mirror of what I am thinking... So I’m thinking beautiful thoughts.
And I see beauty all around me.
And I see beauty all around me.
Now this is my life...
Love is My Muse
‘Love is like a beautiful flower which I may not touch, but whose fragrance makes the garden a place of delight just the same.’ ~ Helen Keller
Daisies 48" x 36"
I've been musing about love...
What is love?
Love is the heart of creation.
Love is a flower blossoming into its fullest expression. It is the act of becoming.
Love energy feels at once peaceful... and joyous anticipation.
A plant is in love when it is nurtured by the sun, the wind, and the rain...
Love feels alive and thriving.
Love is a flower blossoming into its fullest expression. It is the act of becoming.
Love energy feels at once peaceful... and joyous anticipation.
A plant is in love when it is nurtured by the sun, the wind, and the rain...
Love feels alive and thriving.
When I feel in love, I am in the energy of becoming my greatest expression...
I'm letting love lead me.
Love is my muse.
Meeting inspiration.
The only way to be creative is to create.
Being creative requires inspiration, but you can’t always wait to be inspired. It doesn’t always come to you... Sometimes you have to go to it. You just have to put pen to paper or paint brush to canvas and create.
'When inspiration doesn't come, I go halfway to meet it.’ ~ Sigmund Freud
When I’m too much in my head I need to move my body, so I go for a walk. Walking clears my mind.
I let go of the puzzle I’m trying too hard to solve... I just walk it out.
I like to wander as I wonder... And somehow just by walking, the pieces all come together.
‘My work is inspired by two things: the external world and the internal world. A good day is when they meet on canvas.’ ~ Bonnie Mandoe
Sometimes I am inspired to paint, and other times I paint to be inspired. I let my desire to create lead the way, and then I meet inspiration around every corner...
What do you do to meet inspiration?
Filling up at the Well (of well-being)
‘Water the root to enjoy the fruit.’ ~ Maharishi Mahesh Yogi
I remember my mother telling me that the glass has to be full before it can ‘runneth over’... I think she learnt this from the Maharishi.
I remember my mother telling me that the glass has to be full before it can ‘runneth over’... I think she learnt this from the Maharishi.
I grew up watching my mother practicing yoga in the living room and meditating every afternoon. When I brought my friends home from school I’d say, “Shhh! My mum is meditating.” This was many years before yoga and meditation were remotely mainstream, so some of my friends were actually a bit scared of my mother... it didn’t help that she was also the local “health nut”, which in those days was like being the local witch.
When I was 13 my mother had me initiated into Transcendental Meditation. Now when I came home from school, I had to meditate for 15 minutes every day. I don’t remember how long I had the meditation practice for, but I do remember one experience I had during my meditation... My mind went completely white. No thoughts... just a feeling of floating in empty space. I experienced nothingness.
Nothing mattered. No-thing-mattered.
It was peace.
'Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without.' ~ Buddha
Now, anything that brings me to that Being state is my meditation.
When you are feeling so connected in your body, your mind and your spirit... you are in a state of Being.
I call this the creative moment. Or you could say, being in flow or a state of grace.
To be so focused in the moment of creation, like a dancer on the dance floor or with paintbrush on canvas, all other thoughts disappear...
It's not about the outcome. The point is purely the creative moment.
Nothing else matters...
To have the energy to Do and create, I must first Be.
Whenever I feel disconnected or overwhelmed, I know it's time to fill my cup at the well.
Oh, and my mother still meditates every afternoon... I just make sure I don’t call her at that time...
To have the energy to Do and create, I must first Be.
Whenever I feel disconnected or overwhelmed, I know it's time to fill my cup at the well.
Oh, and my mother still meditates every afternoon... I just make sure I don’t call her at that time...
Practicing Commitment
Making a painting is a lot like a relationship. It’s a commitment.
Little paintings, like short relationships, are good practice and you get to experience the thrill of completion a little sooner... But a BIG painting is a long-term commitment. It takes more time, dedication and determination.
Little paintings, like short relationships, are good practice and you get to experience the thrill of completion a little sooner... But a BIG painting is a long-term commitment. It takes more time, dedication and determination.
Like any relationship, there are many stages to creating a painting.
I start each painting with a drawing on canvas. It’s the beginning of our relationship... I’m getting to know it.
In the second stage I add a layer of grey paint as a tonal study. The painting is becoming more solid and real... and all kinds of surprises are showing up! Interesting shapes and characters are appearing... it’s fun and playful!
In the second stage I add a layer of grey paint as a tonal study. The painting is becoming more solid and real... and all kinds of surprises are showing up! Interesting shapes and characters are appearing... it’s fun and playful!
The third stage involves adding layers of colour. Now it becomes more serious... I must keep my vision clear and focused, especially as I go through the ugly phase. This is when doubts can show up...
It's time to listen to my painting. It tells me where it wants to go...Sometimes it takes a complete change of direction than what I expected... so it’s important to be flexible.
I need to give it continued attention now... if I leave it too long it’s easy to lose interest and start a whole new one...
In the end, the commitment is worth it. Just like a relationship you learn a lot about yourself and a lot about life. You realize it isn’t all about the finished product... it’s about the process and loving each stage of the journey. But you need to make a commitment to experience this.
Ode to January
Oh January... It is hard to love you. 
If earth is a body, then you are the bones.
You challenge me to see beauty on the muddy path where I walk...
Why are you so silent?
What is the story you are writing?
You give me quiet and solitude to face the truth of my soul.
January. You are the truest of months.
I love your wisdom, your patience, your depth...
You are the beginning and the end.
And as soon as I allow you in, you are gone...
Create Your Life
There’s a new way of being in the world. We no longer look outside of ourselves to see where we fit into the world. Instead, we create the world from the inside out .The world then becomes a match to who we are.
Each day we get to decide ~ What will my day be like? How will I live?... What will I create today? Our lives become art-ful.
Life is a play. We are the writers, directors, producers... we are the Stars of our own play...
Life is a play. We are the writers, directors, producers... we are the Stars of our own play...
That which is creative must create itself. ~ John Keats
So what will the next Act be?
So what will the next Act be?
Chapter 2013... What will Your story be?
Create Your Essence Art vision board... sign up HERE
Your Essence Art
Do you have goals and dreams for the New Year? For your life?...
I have created Your Essence Art ~ a vision guide.
Your Essence Art is a picture of what your soul desires to be, do and have in your life. It is creative expression from your soul and connects you with the vision from your heart.
Knowing why you want something helps you to become clear. When you resonate with the essence of your desires you are in alignment with the truth and purpose for your life.
Spirit communicates through symbols and images. Art is a tool that we can use to connect us with our spirit. Your Essence Art is a vision board process that provides insight to what your soul wants to experience and express.
I have created Your Essence Art ~ a vision guide.
Your Essence Art is a picture of what your soul desires to be, do and have in your life. It is creative expression from your soul and connects you with the vision from your heart.
Knowing why you want something helps you to become clear. When you resonate with the essence of your desires you are in alignment with the truth and purpose for your life.
Spirit communicates through symbols and images. Art is a tool that we can use to connect us with our spirit. Your Essence Art is a vision board process that provides insight to what your soul wants to experience and express.
Click here and receive Your Essence Art vision guide.
How to Un-Create
When we want something to disappear from our lives we must un-create it.
When we create something, we have a vision in our minds and an intention to create it. We dream and imagine it coming to be... we keep our attention on it. We think about it all the time... And then we take action.
So how do we un-create?
When we create something, we have a vision in our minds and an intention to create it. We dream and imagine it coming to be... we keep our attention on it. We think about it all the time... And then we take action.
So how do we un-create?
If I have something that I really don’t like (lets say a painting) and it’s on my wall and everytime I look at it I say, “Oh, I hate this painting. It’s got to go!” If I truly want it gone, then what do I do?
Do I keep looking at it saying, “I really hate this, I wish it would go!!”
I could look at it forever... just wishing it would go away... but the truth is, the more attention I give it, the more emotion I give it... the more it will remain as an ugly painting on my wall.
Here are six steps to un-create:
- Be clear that you want this thing (person, experience) out of your life.
- Make peace with it. (Thank it for being a part of your life and whatever it has given you).
- Imagine your life without it. (Imagine it floating away... or disappearing and getting smaller and smaller.) How do you feel?
- KNOW that it is on it’s way out.
- Take whatever action is indicated to you.
- Now give your attention to what you Do want.
That’s it!
Un-creating can be almost as much fun as creating... and opens the door for something new.
What do you need to let go of?...
What will you un-create today?
Once upon a canvas...
Once upon a time there was a white canvas. The white canvas stood next to many other white canvases on a store shelf... some bigger than others, but all looking very much the same.
All the white canvases wanted to grow up to become paintings, but this particular canvas was also a dreamer... She wanted to be so much more than an ordinary painting. She dreamed of becoming vibrant with colour and expression and to live an amazing and unique life! She wanted to be all that she could BE. She wanted to come alive and to travel the world.
One day she was picked up and brought to a room full of light and colour. The room was so bright that at first she couldn’t see...
Gradually, as her eyes adjusted to the new light, she found herself surrounded by bright and colourful paintings... and she was in awe. She wanted to be like them. She was so excited for the possibilites before her... it was hard to be patient. She wanted it NOW.
Finally one day, lines began to appear on her white canvas skin. She watched as the lines became shapes, and the shapes became characters... White Canvas was coming to life...
All the white canvases wanted to grow up to become paintings, but this particular canvas was also a dreamer... She wanted to be so much more than an ordinary painting. She dreamed of becoming vibrant with colour and expression and to live an amazing and unique life! She wanted to be all that she could BE. She wanted to come alive and to travel the world.
One day she was picked up and brought to a room full of light and colour. The room was so bright that at first she couldn’t see...
Gradually, as her eyes adjusted to the new light, she found herself surrounded by bright and colourful paintings... and she was in awe. She wanted to be like them. She was so excited for the possibilites before her... it was hard to be patient. She wanted it NOW.
Finally one day, lines began to appear on her white canvas skin. She watched as the lines became shapes, and the shapes became characters... White Canvas was coming to life...
Stay tuned for the adventures of Daisy...