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

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

two in one week!

Well, I don't blog for ages, then I post 2 in one week. One word for that isn't there..... random. Yep that's how I go sometimes and this month has been no different. I am actually sharing this weeks Book of Days spread during this week. I know, shock, horror! I'm also sharing a painting I delivered to it's new home last weekend.

 First the new painting. I was given a colour palette by my client and a general theme of what they wanted and this is the finished canvas. I really love the light airy colours. It was a bigger canvas, measuring 1.8 x 0.6m.. I really loved it and so did it's owner.  I really love painting these long canvases and it has me wanting one in my own house now.

This week for me it was all about being in the moment and finding little Joy Moments each day.

The prompt for this week was to use fabric in our spread. 

I used the Atelier Free Flow paints and I started with a brush blended background of Pthalo Green, Cadmium Yellow Medium and Titanium White.

Then I used one of the new Scrap Fx stamps, Ruffled Feather, with Titanium white and also just spritzed with plain water to create texture in the background.

I always tell my students to save everything in case they can use it in their art journals. I see them roll their eyes, listening to me telling them to save crazy stuff, wondering when they could use 'that' again. Well as I was sitting at my desk I was wondering what sort of fabric I wanted to use, looking around for inspiration and my eyes landed on some scrunched up dried, used baby wipes.

 Well, baby wipes are a type of fabric aren't they, so that is where I started. I decided that I didn't want to rip them up and saw my Big Shot machine sitting idly by, not having been used for a long time, so out it came with some Spellbinders die's. I cut out circles and dragonflies and began my spread.

 We had some lovely sunshine this week so I sat out and doodled around the circles and labeled them with the days of the week.

Of course I used by favourite journaling pen, the White Signo, and the purple Aqualip for the title and some doodling. The Aqualips are fast becoming my go to pens for titles now. They flow so easily and dry with a nice glossy finish.

Each day, at the end of recording that day's happenings, I wrote a Joy moment, one moment from each day that gave me joy. No matter how small there is always something that gives you joy on any given day. It can be as simple as my Monday Joy moment of finally curling up on my bead with a good book after a long day at work. Do you look for joy moments in your day?

Registration for the next session of Book of Days is open on October 15th. Sign up for Effy's newsletter so you don't miss out.