What do you love?

Roses   48" x 48"  Oil on Canvas

What we love tells us about who we are at the very core of our being.

What we love is an expression of our essence and how our spirit wants to experience the world.

When we do what we love we are connecting with our essence and it’s from this place that our greatest dreams are born.

Every so often I make a "Love List". I write down everything I love... And it makes me realize how much I do love!  

And everything I'm grateful for.

So in honour of Valentine's Day, I'm writing out my Love List...

‘In our life there is a single colour, as on an artist’s palette, which provides the meaning of life and art. It is the colour of love.’ ~ Marc Chagall

What do you love?

I heard the Spring bird...

It's only January but the birds are singing...

And they're saying ~ ♫ Spring is on it's way ♬♪

It's time to plant seeds and begin a new Dream Journey...

21 Day Dream Journey

Beginning Sunday, January 19th and ending on Saturday February 8th I'll be doing the 21 Day Dream Journey and posting an excerpt from my book each day on my Facebook Page.

You can follow along Here, and if you 'Like and Share' my page, you could win a copy of my book along with a custom designed journal notebook.

https://www.facebook.com/YourEssenceArt 

The Dream

One day I woke up and realized I was living my dream...

In this busy world with all of life's responsibilities and obligations, it's easy to lose yourself along the way... Do you still have The Dream? Do you wonder if you will ever live the life you imagined?

I always wanted to be an artist when I grew up. From a very young age I loved to draw and create. As a child I lived in the magical world of my imagination and was inspired by the beauty in the natural world around me.

And then I went to school...

Click Here to read the story.

In the Void

'Home is where you can go and rest and be nothing.' ~ Marty Rubin

It's January and I have no desire to start anything new. It feels right to just Be.

I'm in the void.

The void is an in-between place. It's the slack water before the tide changes... The pause between the in-breath and the out-breath...

'The type of nothing from which something can arise is truly something.' ~ John K. Brown

I know change is coming. I'm just going to enjoy drifting at sea... I wonder which way the wind will blow?..

Angels Among Us

This time between Christmas and the New Year feels like a big pause on the wheel of life. It is the perfect time for reflection.

And so, before I begin my next Big Dream, I’m thinking of all that I am grateful for...

'These things I warmly wish for you: Someone to love, some work to do, a bit o' sun, a bit o' cheer, and a guardian angel always near.' ~ Irish Blessings

My Guardian Angels c.1960-something

I believe in angels. 

In fact, I know two of them personally...

Angels aren't always what we think. They don't always have wings, or noticeable halos...

'Ever feel an angel's breath in the gentle breeze? A teardrop in the falling rain? Hear a whisper amongst the rustle of leaves? Or been kissed by a lone snowflake? Nature is an angel's favourite hiding place.' ~ Carrie Latat

Yes, there are angels among us... But you have to pay close attention to life to know when you see one.

Your North Star

For my part I know nothing with any certainty, but the sight of the stars makes me dream. ~ Vincent Van Gogh

A long time ago I had a secret life. It was real on one level of existence, but I was the only one that knew about it. And I didn’t dare tell anyone… it was my dream and it needed protecting.

But I, being poor, have only my dreams; I have spread my dreams under your feet; Tread softly because you tread on my dreams. ~ W.B. Yeats 

So I lived my life and kept it to myself.

A flickering flame inside me...

But like a true North Star, my dream was always there; a constant light that kept me on my path.

From “Ethereal to Real”, the Little Book of Big Dreams describes the seven steps in the creative process and walks you on the path to living your dreams. 

Our dreams come from our inner truth and express the essence of who we are. When we live our dreams we live an inspired life of deeper meaning, purpose and happiness.   

Part One of this book provides an overview of the seven steps in the creative process.

Part Two takes you deeper into the creative process as you embark on a 21 Day Dream Journey to bring your own dreams to life.

For a peek at what's inside, you can click here to Read the Introduction

Order a Copy

Life is a Tapestry

Tapestry weaves the stories of her life and transforms them into new ways of being. She is the forest floor... a blanket nurturing Mother Earth as she settles into stillness.

Tapestry   oil on canvas  30" x 40"

The days are long and dark and cold... And it feels as if life goes underground for awhile.

In Life's Cycle of Creativity, winter is a time of drawing inward; to heal, nurture, and process what has already been created.

It is a time of transformation... letting go of the old to make way for the new.

After much activity it's time to rest into Being. 

My life has been a tapestry
of rich and royal hue,
an everlasting vision
of the ever changing view. ~ Carole King

Where are you in Life's Cycle of Creativity? 

Take the Quiz

A sneak peek...

The 'Little Book of Big Dreams' is almost Real!

Final edits are done and it's off to the printers...

For a peek at what's inside, you can click here and read the introduction.

Experiencing the World - seeing, feeling

As we express ourselves, we explore who we are in the world. And just as the spoken or written word is a translation of our thoughts and feelings, art is a visual expression of what we see and experience.

Forest - first colour layer

Art is a way of discovering who we are.

Last night I had a discussion with another artist friend about painting.

"I know what I do when I paint!" he said excitedly, "I feel my painting. That's what painting is all about!"

I thought about this. We all experience life differently through our senses - and so we express it differently. I thought about my own creative process. Why do I paint what I paint? 

I am constantly organizing in my mind's eye; lining up shapes and balancing colours. I see the beauty and harmony in nature and I want to express this onto the canvas.  So for me, it is a very visual experience. This is how I perceive, experience and connect with the world around me. 

How and what I paint is an expression of what I see and experience. It tells me something of who I am.

How do you connect with your world?

And how do you express what you see, feel, and experience?

Little Book of Big Dreams

‘To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe.’ ~ Anatole France

My 'Little Book of Big Dreams' is almost complete. It began as a seed of an idea that once planted and nurtured, began to grow and become what it was meant to be...

Two years ago, the title for a book popped into my head. I liked it so I wrote it down.

And I didn't think of it again.

It's as if I planted a seed in my garden... forgot about it... and then one day I realized that this flower that's blossomed came from that seed long ago!

And ironically, this is what my book is about. It's about creation. 

It's about having a dream and making it real...

'The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.' ~ Eleanor Roosevelt

Coming soon... Little Book of Big Dreams.  

Click here for more information.