Dream Catcher
My painting Dream Catcher will be on display at next weekend's North Shore Art Crawl, before moving to its new home. Here is a little story I wrote last year while painting Dream Catcher...
Dream Catcher 60" x 48" Oil on Canvas
My painting Dream Catcher will be on display at next weekend's North Shore Art Crawl, before moving to it's new home...
I'll be at 195 Studios on Pemberton Ave., North Vancouver March 7th and 8th, 10 am - 6 pm. Hope to see you there... (and be sure to catch our fashion show at 1:00 pm March 7th!).
Here is a little story I wrote last year while painting Dream Catcher:
The Rose Garden
Once upon a time in a garden, lived a beautiful rose.
She wore a red velvet dress and surrounded herself with brilliant blues and greens.
Rose was happy and had everything she could wish for...
Once upon a time in a garden, lived a beautiful rose.
She wore a red velvet dress and surrounded herself with brilliant blues and greens...
Rose was happy and had everything she could wish for.
Her garden was her kingdom. It was nature in full bloom... colourful flowers, wild grasses, bees, blue sky... and a warm, gentle breeze. It was the garden of love and beauty.
Nature’s living bouquet.
But as seasons come and go, Rose’s world began to change...
And slowly, Rose died a little death.
“Do not watch the petals fall from the rose with sadness, know that, like life, things sometimes must fade, before they can bloom again.”
But the Essence of the Rose lives on...
Rose is in every golden pink sunset and every blossoming garden.
She is a summer day...
She is love and passion... ruby red... her element is fire, burning bright with desire... and in the fullness of life!
When you experience love, you experience the essence of the Rose.
“The rose speaks of love silently, in a language known only to the heart.”
Visit the Essence Art™ Boutique and receive 10% off everything Roses for the month of February!
Painting Pollination
When I painted Pollination five years ago, I didn't yet realize what I was birthing... Painting Pollination became the seed for a complete garden. So it's interesting that I named her Pollination...
“Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.”
When I painted Pollination five years ago, I didn't yet realize what I was birthing...
Painting Pollination became the seed for a complete garden.
So it's interesting that I named her Pollination...
One seed planted creates many more seeds.
Life creates and re-creates itself continuously...
“Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky, in the street... Fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening...”
12 Ways Creativity Is Good For You
It's January, dark and rainy (here in Vancouver)... So it's a good time to get cozy in the studio, make plans for the year ahead, and just be grateful for everything already created.
Here is a little video I made a couple of years ago called 12 Ways Creativity Is Good For You:
It's January, dark and rainy (here in Vancouver)... So it's a good time to get cozy in the studio, make plans for the year ahead, and just be grateful for everything already created.
Here is a little video I made a couple of years ago called 12 Ways Creativity Is Good For You:
You grow younger
It keeps you flexible (a flexible mind is a flexible body!)
You have loads of energy (creativity is life force energy!)
You become happier
Life is fun
When you tap into the creative flow, synchronicity and magic shows up!
You become self-expressed
You see and experience life in new ways
Life is more beautiful
Life is less serious
You laugh and smile more
You wake up excited for each day...
May you have a creative, happy and healthy 2015!
New Designs!
I love dreaming up new ideas and visions, but there is nothing as exciting as making them real.
So I've been dreaming and painting and dreaming and painting...
And busily at work in the design lab...
“The world needs dreamers and the world needs doers. But above all, the world needs dreamers who do.”
I love dreaming up new ideas and visions, but there is nothing as exciting as making them real.
So I've been dreaming and painting and dreaming and painting...
And busily at work in the design lab...
New Designs!
Mom and tot leggings. Baby leggings in sizes 6 months, 1 year, 2 years and 3 years. Visit the Boutique
More designs coming soon...
New Year, New Dream
Do you have a dream? Do you know what you want to create in your life?
Knowing why you want something helps you become clear. When you resonate with the essence of your desires you are in alignment with the truth and purpose for your life...
Do you have a dream? Do you know what you want to create in your life?
Knowing why you want something helps you become clear. When you resonate with the essence of your desires you are in alignment with the truth and purpose for your life.
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.
Join me for a special Soul Art® workshop on January 25th to Create Your Dream.
Pre-registration is required and space is limited so please register early. Click here for more information and to register.
*All participants will also receive a copy of the Little Book of Big Dreams.
“To make a great dream come true, you must first have a great dream.”
The 'Little Book' is an eBook!
I'm warm and dry in my studio and listening to the rain pounding on the rooftop as I happily paint away...
The days are getting colder and darker (and wetter!) here in Vancouver, as another year is coming to an end.
But with each end is a new beginning, so already I am thinking of what the new year will bring...
“It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.”
Korsfjord Forest, work in progress
I'm warm and dry in my studio and listening to the rain pounding on the rooftop as I happily paint away...
The days are getting colder and darker (and wetter!) here in Vancouver, as another year is coming to an end.
But with each end is a new beginning, so already I am thinking of what the new year will bring...
I love having new ideas, dreams and goals, but to make them real requires action.
The Little Book of Big Dreams describes the '7 Steps from Ethereal to Real' and is a Dream Journey guide to 'Make Your Dreams Real'. This book has just been released as an eBook!
“Sometimes it’s the journey that teaches you a lot about your destination.”
You can click here for more information.
Stepping into the unknown...
I like the known. The known is comfortable and predictable. But sometimes I think I like the unknown better… The unknown is a sea of endless possibilities.
Each time I begin a painting, I step into the unknown. I don’t know how it will turn out...
“One is never afraid of the unknown; one is afraid of the known coming to an end.”
I like the known. The known is comfortable and predictable. But sometimes I think I like the unknown better… The unknown is a sea of endless possibilities.
Each time I begin a painting, I step into the unknown. I don’t know how it will turn out. I have to embrace uncertainty and trust in my vision coming to life. But this is the creative process and ultimately the reason why I paint.
The act of creation is the process of making the unknown known… Creating something out of nothing. If the outcome is known, then it ceases to be creative… It already is.
There is no greater joy and excitement than seeing the unknown become known… This is what life is.
And then it's time to create all over again...
“How can you know what you’re capable of if you don’t embrace the unknown?”
In the beginning there was Art...
For me, art in its truest and simplest form begins with pencil on paper. A drawing begins the outline for a greater vision...
And just as my paintings begin with a simple sketch, what I want to create in my life begins with art...
“I sometimes think there is nothing so delightful as drawing. ”
For me, art in its truest and simplest form begins with pencil on paper. A drawing begins the outline for a greater vision...
And just as my paintings begin with a simple sketch, what I want to create in my life begins with art.
Creating art is my foundation. It is the wellspring for everything else in my life. This business would not exist without it.
I could exist... But what is existence without essence?
We All Need Art
"Art, as creativity, is something humans must do by their very nature."
Recently I taught a painting class for seniors. Most had never painted before (or at least since they were children), and now they were going to paint their first oil painting on canvas...
"Art, as creativity, is something humans must do by their very nature."
Recently I taught a painting class for seniors. These twelve women were ages 68 to 99 years old and each one lives with at least one chronic illness or age-related condition such as visual impairment, pain and depression. Most had never painted before (or at least since they were children), and now they were going to paint their first oil painting on canvas...
Alice, age 98 and Ethel, age 99
I created twelve templates of flowers in black and white prints on canvas. There were two designs to choose from; daisies or roses. They were fairly complex designs for beginners but I knew that a blank canvas would be too daunting for most. The idea was to have a design to start with so they could be free to just mix colours and enjoy the experience of putting paint on canvas.
The women were excited, though a little anxious, to begin. Each were given an 8” x 10” canvas with their chosen design, two colours to begin with, and a little medium to mix. With a few initial instructions they jumped right in and began to paint...
After eight classes the women are finished and ready to sign their work. I am amazed at what they have not only created, but also what they have experienced through this process. Here are a few highlights:
Sheila’s hands were so shaky she almost gave up before putting any paint on canvas. With a little encouragement and direction she created a beautiful painting, surprising herself more than anyone, and experienced more confidence and belief in herself through the process.
Ethel, who is 99 years old, needed a magnifying glass to put the paint on canvas. Ethel had always wanted to try painting, and so with much determination and humour, she showed everyone that you are never too old to try something new.
Angela wowed everyone with her hidden creative talent. Alice stuck with it to create a lovely painting with light, shadow and movement… Beverly (who doesn’t normally join in activities) arrived early for each class and disappeared into her creative zone… Bea enthusiastically finished two paintings… Troy said she forgot all her troubles as she moved the paint on canvas... And Maud just happily painted away…
