still at it...

remember this big huge intimidating 

canvas i showed you back then?

well... 

i am still at it, 

it is still a work in progress,

and it is teaching me a lot of lessons. 

first i was adamant i would find a face in it, 

which i eventually did, 

slightly forced i admit.

(there were a few more steps before this but i deleted the photos by mistake or frustration)

i stayed at that stage for a long time, wondering what to do next. 

then decided to try adding eyes

again i lived with her for a while. 

i liked her but wasn't 100% convinced, 

she now looked too real. 

this big canvas is meant for our lounge 

and i believe i need to be totally in love with the painting 

to live with it. 

so once again, i moved on

(it felt disrespectful to paint directly on her face and i wanted to keep her alive beneath the layers)

so i added some collage on top

and now where to from here?

i will keep you posted when i get unstuck... 

coming up...

as i had mentioned here,

2014 will be a year full of learning curves, 

life always is isn't it? 

here are a few of the planned ones

i have so far: 

on the 20th of january i'm starting Full Circle

a 12 weeks workshop

with Misty Mawn

on the 10th of february i will start 

Bloom True with Flora Bowley

yes the courses overlap...

yes it will be busy, thrilling and big.

and 

yes i have promised myself that i would go gently, 

at my own pace.  

lastly:

in september 

(still far away but booked) 

i am going to Italy, 

for a LIVE art week with Misty Mawn!!!!!

how i feel about all that is beyond words

but i'll try anyway: 

lucky, grateful, excited, intimidated, thrilled,  

ecstatic, nervous, overexcited and much more

:)

my word

i found my word for 2014... 

it feels like a big word. 

authentic, authenticity:

- real or genuine;

- in existentialism authenticity is the degree to which one is true to one's own

personality, spirit, or character, despite external pressures; 

- concerns the truthfulness of origins, attributions, commitments, sincerity 

devotion and intentions;

- in philosophy: to be faithful to internal rather than external ideas;

- expressive authenticity in art: how much the work possesses original or inherent authority, 

how much sincerity, genuineness of expression, and moral passion the artist

puts into the work.

BIG... at least for me.

time to show up, uncover, discover, find the truth, unleash, 

be the truth, tell the truth... 

while i was working through Susannah Conway's workbook 

i had a few other potential words

and then on that day i received this Truthbomb

by Danielle Laporte in my inbox: 

that sealed it, 

authenticity was going to be my word for 2014

oh and one more synchronicity/confirmation: 

this came into my life too.

it shall be my guideline, 

my reminder:

"...i understood that i owed it to myself, to everyone i met, and to life itself 

to always be an expression of my own unique essence. 

trying to be anything or anyone else didn't make me better - it just deprived me of my true self! 

it kept others from experiencing me for who i am, 

and it deprived me of interacting authentically with them. 

being inauthentic also deprives the universe of who i came here to be 

and what i came here to express." 

Anita Moorjani - Dying to be Me

this song

i'm in love... 

                      

The Civil Wars - Dust to Dust

Playing

hello world!

feels like i'm landing back after 

a little home retreat;

pottering around, reading, day dreaming...

wonderful. 

i eased back into the studio yesterday 

by playing on some little canvases 

that needed repurposing. 

a mini series of curious creatures... 

even a little Pax 

30 days

i'm participating in this 

with Lisa Sonora Beam 

i'm on day 3.

it's gotten me back to my journal.

back to putting my busy, messy thoughts on paper.

and i love it

and it's free.

you can join here

and i think i can here the creative flow coming back ;) 

which one will it be 2014?

via

HaPpY nEW YeaR 

EveRyONe!!!