Inspired

Lately, I have been smitten and inspired by the artwork of lovely, Jeanie Tomanek. You know the moment when you are in a blocked mode artistically and then you see someone's work that totally pulls you up...? Well, this has happened to me yet again. I adore Jeanie's color palette and expressive women. They seem strong, yet nurturing. They seem resilient, yet a tad fragile in their expression. Jeanie paints with such grace and intuition. I am so thankful to have found her work and connected with her online. Please check out her etsy shop. She has some amazing work......
Here is a lovely sampling of her work:

And here are a couple paintings from me that came after seeing Jeanie's work:

"Barefoot"

Original sold

Prints available HERE

"Reflection"

Original Sold

Prints available HERE

these words are inspired by the poem from St. John of the Cross:

I was sad one day and went for a walk;

I sat in a field.

A rabbit noticed my condition and came near.

It often does not take more than that to help

at times-- to just be close to creatures who

are so full of knowing, so full of love that they

don't chat, they just gaze with their marvelous

understanding.

Light

I'm sitting here with the poodles for my morning devotion and I am reminded the night God spoke to me to paint. Rewind some 7 years ago, Tim and I were exploring wine country in Santa Barbara county when I saw the full moon over the Pacific. For some reason, I had an epiphany that I wanted to try my hand at painting. 

The word epiphany originally referred to insight through the divine. (Wikipedia)

That particular night I was unaware of the source (my Source) speaking to me, but as I began my journey and creating, I felt His presence more fully than ever before.

NIV translation Gen 1:27 says: So God created mankind in his own image,
    in the image of God he created them;

I truly believe this verse means that we are created in His image....not of the physical form, but....to be creators ourselves. Creators of art, creators of imagination, creators of words, creators of giving, creators of --fill in the blank-

We have recently found a new Church home. I had fallen away from attending church when I started working in makeup because most Sundays I would be working. We got out of the habit of going and my anxiety of even going back to Church crept in. My fears kept me away. But, as we stepped inside of this bustling community of love, my fear instantly fell away. I was reminded we are not there to worry what humans think, but to worship our most High God.

We sing a song there that goes like this:

the other night when I lay down, these words filled my soul: 

Your light is a million times brighter than the sun

yet I cannot look away.

Your love fills me up

more than ever before

And I realize that we are One.

One with You, God

One with the Holy Spirit

One with Jesus Christ, our Savior

Your light is always there

never unending

it was and ever will be

from the beginning of time and forever

I surrender all of me to You.

Shine my own divine light

through You

in my hope of reaching others.

inspired by the imagery of the account of Eben Alexander in Proof of Heaven

where he describes God as a million times brighter than the sun.....

Shine

I want to invite you to come to church with me. If you have never been to church or have fallen away (as I did) then please come worship with me. Or if you have anxiety about attending a church building you can worship with me HERE online.

Radiant Light

When you are still, you shine your radiant, divine light.
Your true self begins to emerge.
Walking alone in the woods
you witness the birds.
The sun's light shining through the trees
suddenly becomes a star. And cross.

You wonder about the universe
and how small you feel.
Standing at the base of forest floor
leaves finally still from the crunch under your feet
you let the sun sparkle on your face.

Glistening moments, when you realize
you are not alone
A parade of light specks overwhelm your senses
You feel embraced by them. warmed
There is only this moment.
Only the tiny cricket sounds matter.
In this moment, clarity wins.
In this moment, my presence is eternal.

Doodle Circle Blog hop

My dear friend, Dawn DeVries Sokol just came out with a new book. It's called Doodle Circle: a fill in journal for BFF's to share.

Let me first say that the pages are absolutely LUSH! Who wouldn't want to create, doodle and explore on these pages. I love that they aren't blank so you are inspired each visit to your journal. The color brings you in. The textures invite you to play....and the prompts keep you coming back for more!

One of my favorite prompts/pages is "What's in a name" If you could change your name to anything else, what would it be and why? Doodle it out here and make it look fancy. I just love this. When I was a kid I wanted to change my name to Molly. no idea why.....LOL!

Please check all these wonderful, talented artists in the blog hoppers circle for Dawn's Doodle Circle book:

Oct. 1: Michelle Geller, www.michellegeller.typepad.com
Oct. 2: Aimee Dolich, artsyville.blogspot.com

Oct. 3: Pam Carriker, pamcarriker.com

Oct. 4: Tammy Garcia, daisyyellowart.com

Oct. 5: Tracie Lyn Huskamp, thereddoor-studio.blogspot.com

Oct. 6: Jill K. Berry, jillberrydesign.com/blog

Oct. 7: Carla Sonheim, carlasonheim.wordpress.com

Oct. 8: Tamara LaPorte, www.willowing.org/blog

Oct. 9: Micki Wilde, thesecrethermit.blogspot.com

Oct. 10: Mindy Lacefield, www.timssally.com

Oct. 11: Jane Davenport, janedavenport.com

Oct. 12: Dawn D. Sokol, www.dawndsokol.com

Wild Surrender

My book is here! I'm just now being able to blog about it due to some teaching in Portland this past week. My book has 7 sections: beginnings, clarity, coyote and red rock, Process, Prompts, Progression of work 2008-2011, and Recent Work.

Wild Surrender is image heavy with over 200 paintings in progression from 2008 forward. I wanted others to see the progression my art has taken and the time it takes to evolve your art. It doesn't necessarily happen overnight. I didn't create amazing art at the get-go. I hope you find that refreshing, if by chance you are just starting out. My book also features a few tutorials on how to paint a face as well as painting and journaling prompts. The beginning of the book is my favorite. It showcases poetry (birthed from my morning pages) married with my art. If you are a visual person, you will love this book. My hope is through surrendering up my words....surrendering up my fears and childhood rainy days...that you will connect and open up to new possibilities of expression.

Wild Surrender is available on Amazon

or you can order a signed copy through ME here.