Hello again...

Untitled (Work in Progress)

Melody of the Mind ACEO

So, I've been on the fritz lately with all my artwork. But, being as it was my birthday weekend, Easter weekend, and I had a baby shower to go to...I'm cutting myself a little slack.

Now that everything is settling down, I'm back at it and working away. Just finished an ACEO, titled "Melody of the Mind" and inspired by my love of the piano. And, I am currently working on a (as of today) Untitled piece.

Love your Mother Earth!

Happy Earth Day Everyone!!!


Here's a couple awesome Earth Day Treasuries from the good sellers of Etsy to celebrate our home planet! :)

celebrating mother eARTh

The Earth is my Home

What on EARTH!!

Busy busy bee...

I've been on a fanatic ACEO making spree lately...and here's the fruits of my labors! :)

Nose to the grindstone...er...canvas.

It's amazing what posting about my current "works in progress" will do for my work ethic. Even though I often post my "works in progress" photos from days or weeks prior, it feels like the moment I do...I just HAVE to finish.
It's an added motivation...like exercising with a friend, to make sure you show up and stick to it; or joining a study group so that you don't end up spacing out before a big test. Once I put those photos out there, I feel like I need to finish what I started. (Which is probably why I also wait till nearer to the end of a project to post, so that I don't pull an all nighter...and end up completely exhausted and still unfinished)

For most of my pieces, the painting is the hardest part. It's the part I slave over and stress about. When it comes to the mosaic; it just feels like second nature. It flows smoothly and effortlessly, and therefore, although extremely time consuming...is probably the easiest part of the whole process.

So, now...without further ado, I present "Opposites Attract". My latest completed work! :)
(Which will be listed in my Etsy shop very soon)

Much love to all...and now I'm off to sleep (since, as you can see...I spent all of last night creating)
;)

Two sides to every story...

It's been a little while since I've had a chance to pop on here and write anything; so I thought I'd take a few minutes tonight and update.
The creative juices have been slow going this past week or so, mostly due to an excess of stress in general. But, as things have quieted down, I've started trying to work through this bout of "artist's block".
One thing I find that always seems to help, is to go back to the beginning, rework something that's been done before, or just start hunting around for any spark of inspiration in all things familiar.
And, that's how I came up with the piece I am currently working on, "Opposites Attract".

I thoroughly enjoy painting Sugar Skulls, and so when all else fails, I try to think of a new version of my tried and true favorite subject matter. This time, it's influenced by the internal tug of war I've been having lately of balancing all the different parts of myself; mother, wife, artist, friend, leader, follower, responsible, free spirited...but, two pieces I find most difficult to balance are my love and need to give to others versus my love and need to give to myself.
I often err on the side of giving too much and leaving nothing left to spare for myself.
But, after dealing with some big life decisions this week and working through some various challenges with my wonderful husband; I began to realize that these two halves of my being can work together, instead of draining from one another.

Hence, the divided halves of the skull, completely different, yet working together harmoniously to create a whole.

I'm excited to see how this pieces turns out in the end, but already, it's got a lot of heart and soul in it.

Much love to all...

NEW NEW NEW!

Yup, it's finished! So excited! You can view the complete listing here in my Etsy Shop

Reconnecting...

It's amazing sometimes what "getting back to nature" even for a moment, can do for ones creative spark. This morning my lovely little family and I decided to go on a short morning hike.
For a few hours, we contented ourselves with walking through the chaparral, throwing rocks into the creek, walking barefoot in the sand of the creek bank, trying to find the perfect walking stick and just soaking up some of the beautiful spring sunshine.
It was amazing to clear my head of everything and recenter; paying attention to things like birds, trees, the warmth of the sun, the sound of running water, instead of sales, networking, painting, and chores; which ended up, actually giving me more motivation and focus, once we got home.
I started this "Tree of Life" piece a little while ago, but it wasn't coming together. I found myself avoiding working on it as much as possible, for fear of ruining it by not being in the right mindset.
But, after a beautiful morning like this morning, I've got fresh inspiration, renewed motivation and inspired confidence.

So, if you're feeling a little uninspired. Get out. Reconnect. Sit under a tree, walk through a park, go for a hike, feed the ducks at a local pond, drive through the country. Get back to the very basics...the simplicity of the natural world. There really is an endless abundance of inspiration and beauty to be had...you just have to open your eyes, open your heart and go for it.