ArtfulLee Designed : 2014

Monday, 12 May 2014

Virtual Blog tour

My friend Louise Gale has asked me to participate in a virtual blog tour this week, something different from my usual posts, so pull up a chair and come in to my world for just a little bit on your way around this blogger-sphere.

1. What am I working on?
Well right now this week, I am working on getting ready for my next art journal class which is a beginners guide to simple mandalas. I love doodling, it is portable, easy to leave and come back to, and easy to do.

I also love mandalas - for their meditative benefits, for the way I can loose myself in them, for the way they can get me out of a creative blank spot, so I incorporate the two and will be showing my students how to doodle their own and how to use them to ground and centre themselves, how to use them as a moving meditation to enhance their creativity and their inner peace.

Long term I am building up my body of work for next years Melbourne International Flower and Garden show which runs in March-April each year. Our art society True Blue Decorative Artists, have a section in the art sales exhibition and it is our one big opportunity to sell our artwork.

I am pleased to say that I sold a few of my paintings this year so I'm in the planning stages of designing paintings for next year. Here is part of a triptych that I have started.

2. How does my work differ from others of its genre?

I think my art and teaching practices are unique because I combine different art forms and make them work for me. I take all my life's experiences and lessons learned to help me share my art with others. I combine doodling, art journaling, larger scale paintings, abstract and mixed media and my spiritual practices, my practice of gratitude and re-framing, to create a portrayal of who I am and where I am an any given moment; a snapshot of my inner world. I am drawn to bright strong colours and this is evident in my artwork.

In my teaching I believe that I allow others to express themselves in their own way. With my guidance and encouragement they are free to create something that is a representation of where they are on their journey. I encourage them to really step into their piece, whether it be an art journal spread or a canvas. By being true to myself, I endeavour to create a safe environment where my students can be true to themselves.

3. Why do I write/create what I do?

Without creating my art, I would be lost. Art and creativity are an integral part of my being and serve many positive purposes in my daily life. Art and creativity ground me, they help me express myself where words are not immediately forthcoming, they bring me immense joy, wonderful friendships and have given me a platform to share with others my love of art and the benefits of expressing yourself with paint. Basically I paint to feel fulfilled, to feel alive.

4. How does your writing/creating process work?

I find that I often have ideas come to me in the car on the way to work, or at other times when I am not in the position to write them down. I am inspired by patterns in objects around me, whether man made or nature. I am inspired by colour combinations like the sunrise or sunset, like a pretty scarf or the left over paint on my palette. I am a very visual person so I have a notebook that I write ideas down but sometimes this is not practical, so I am finding more and more that I use my phone to capture photos of what has inspired me and then save it as an Evernote note and jot bullet points as to what exactly made me take the photo. I can then look at it when I have time and expand on the notes later on.
When I come to starting a new canvas I usually have photos that appeal to me at the time and either pick the subject or the colour combinations to start the painting. Sometimes it is totally random and I breathe in and out for a couple of minutes and then just intuitively grab the bottles of paint that I am drawn to.
When I art journal I often choose my colours based on my current mood. At other times I am inspired by a quote and sit and pick the colours on the feelings that the quote gives me and what colours I think represent that feeling.
I love taking progress shots and it helps a lot of the time to look at the photo when you have been staring at your canvas for a long time not knowing where to take it next. Also then you have all these delicious photos along the way to use later on.

Next week the blog tour moves to the lovely Shelley Rydellie

On any given night you can find Michelle creating in her studio with her two cats – Willie and Johnny by her side. She loves art journaling, and always has numerous journals going at one time. Michelle loves to experiment, and believes that the best art comes from letting go and just playing. She finds inspiration in bright colors, animals, music and – well – everything!
Michelle lives in Minnesota, USA, with her husband Michael who keeps her laughing, and the aforementioned feline companions who keep them both entertained!

You can visit Michelle at her blog: Inspiration Everywhere

Please go and show her some love and check out her inspirational work and blog post next Monday

thanks for visiting my blog

Namaste

Lee

Wednesday, 19 February 2014

Friendships and doodles

Just a quick post today to share the link for my latest post over at Your Heart Makes A Difference and some photos of my latest journaling and travels.

My latest post on Your Heart Makes a Difference went live today so if you would like to read my musings about friendships pay a visit to this heart-centred blog.

For the last 2 weeks I was camping near the beach,

a beautiful relaxing time to regroup, to gather my thoughts about the year ahead and reconnect with one of my greatest loves, the ocean.

I took a small kit of art supplies and a couple of journals with me. I found a great little plastic box with a handle and it perfectly housed my pots of twinkling h20's, small bottles of gesso and white paint, paint pens, pencils and black pens and an old store card.

This was the perfect place for me to get back to my doodling, an activity that you can pick up and put down at any time. You can spend minutes on each piece or play and doodle for hours.

With my limited art supplies I was also able to keep up with my Book of Days

as well as catching up with the Big Dreams, Small wonders ecourse that I am doing with Louise Gale.

How are you going with the courses and classes that you have signed up for this year?

As I listen to the rain falling heavily on my roof, I am reminded of the craziness of the weather at the moment and am so grateful that we are all safe and sound and hope you are as well.

Namaste
Lee

Sunday, 26 January 2014

Trust

Firstly, I have my January post going live today on Your Heart Makes a Difference where I am talking about New Years Resolutions vs New Beginnings. I will have the link at the end of this post if you would like to head over and see what my thoughts are about that.

Each year I like to choose a word of the year, a word that is a quality or feeling I would like to cultivate, nurture and a word that I would like to live long after this year has ended.

This year my word is

Trust

This year my word came to me in a meditation, a quiet time of reflection that let me sit and really feel what my soul wanted me to learn this year. This year is a year to trust in myself, a year to trust in the universe, a year to trust that whatever journey I am on it is exactly where I am supposed to be. Sometimes it is hard to trust when you are faced with challenges but that is exactly the time to sit, reflect, meditate and listen to your intuition. It never lies. It is how you interpret it and, whether or not you listen to it, that really makes the difference.

After my meditation I sat down in my studio to create my first page in my Book of Days.

It is a great way to set the tone for the year when you actually do something to creatively express your word instead of just talking about it.

So, no on to the path I took to create this page.

I am using my favourite paints of the moment, Atelier Free Flow

I painted the entire spread with a watery layer of Cobalt Blue hue. Then I ripped up an old dictionary into strips and stuck them down with Atelier Gel Medium

I then glazed the entire spread with Pthalo Blue. While still wet, I sprayed lightly with a mist of water, let sit for a minute and then blotted off with paper towel

I am really in love with the Quinacridone Magenta at the moment and so I glazed that all over the page too and made some marks with various tools using Cobalt Turquoise Light and Pthalo Blue

How scrumptious does that look?

After this I got carried away with what I was doing and forgot to take photos but you can see I painted the face in glazes, wrote my words with a white Glaze pen and added dots of Titanium white.

So, what about you? Do you pick a word of the year and what do you do to record that?

I hope you'll go and visit me over at Your Heart Makes A Difference

Until next time

Namaste

Lee

Sunday, 12 January 2014

2014 - A New Year, a Fresh Start

Happy New Year everyone. Are you looking forward to 2014?

After a very hectic, up and down 2013 I am looking forward to 2014, a fresh start, a year filled with love and laughter, a year of new beginnings........ and to that end I thought I would share some of the projects I have in my diary this year.

Firstly I am so excited and thrilled to share some exciting news. Last year I guest posted on the blog "Your Heart Makes a Difference" hosted by the lovely Louise Gale, which you can re-visit here. Well Louise has asked me to be a regular contributor to this wonderful uplifting blog on a monthly basis. I am delighted to be included in this group of awesome people and can't wait to post my first offering. In the meantime head on over to Louise's blog to read my intro and to find out more about the beautiful heart-centred musings that make up Your Heart Makes a Difference. My first post goes live on 26 January.

You know that I like to keep busy, trying out new ideas, participating in group art projects and learning and sharing as much as I can so here are the other projects that I have signed up for so far. Click on each title to be taken to the appropriate websites:-

Book of Days 2014 Session 1- hosted by Effy Wild

Well before the last BOD session of 2013 finished I signed up for the first session of 2014. I love Effy's processes and the whole Book of Days community are a welcoming, generous and loving group. My Book of Days has become my constant, my way to look back on my year/s and reflect on where I have been and how far I have come. With weekly videos and connection with the group you can't go wrong with this one.