Say It or Paint It With Love

How many ways can you (or do you) show love through your art?

 With tomorrow being Valentine's Day, I thought I'd pull a few pictures from my 'archives'  that showed a little 'love' . Gosh, looking back at these paintings, you'd think I have been in a world wind romance with some dashing man who has swept me off my feet!!!  Well the truth is, lately, my Valentine's have been reserved for 2 dashing men...my wonderful sons of course, Josh and Zach.  :)
That doesn't mean you can't manifest dreams and desires through your art, or just work through feelings and thoughts as you are creating.   That's one of the things I enjoy most....getting my thoughts out on the canvas, especially those that I can't say out loud or in person.

 And sometimes a simple word is all you need to hear  or see to make you feel that you can, you will, you ARE, or will become.  Art has magical powers tlike that.

 And if you don't hear it enough,   sometimes hanging a little reminder in your studio, office space, or other location will bring you back to the place you need to be.

Sometimes my paintings are about conversations I've had or want to have with someone.  I love this piece above.  It's not so much a conversation I've had but one I'd had like to have had with someone. 

It's fun to create these micro-worlds of possibilities.

What can I say but I L-O-V-E this piece above. The texture, the many under layers peeking through but yet they are all leading to the the same outcome.  Love. A super fun piece to do.

 As I was searching for pieces to share for this post, I came across these oldie but goodies.  I had a class featuring these along with an article in a magazine. I call thses my story block collages.  Mostly painted but there are some 3 d elements as you can see from the hearts.  In my classes students added all sorts of fun embellishments in addition to the hearts. I love sparking ideas and seeing where my students take them. It's an amazing process!

 It's funny as I reflect back over the last several years, part of the reason I stumbled into the art world was because of my heart being broken, rather shattered into a million pieces....it's such a long story but the beginning of it was all about me falling for someone and how my life changed because of that love story.  I guess on the outside, it may seem like a tragic story but through all the bad came this amazing good life that I have now.

 I guess I still process all the events of the last many years through art.

 Not just thoughts about love, but about life in general. My art isn't about some larger political or socioeconomic questions that plague the world, rather my pieces are about everyday life, relationships, family, friends, community....connections.  We all want to feel connected in some way.  Needed in some way.

Creating has a way of getting those feelings out and telling our story in our own way.  Sometimes it's in your face and quite clear what you are trying to say.

...and other times,the message isn't as easily discerned..but it's still there.

What do you say in your art? Have you noticed any trends or messages that appear time and time again?  What does it say about you or your process?  

I hope you have a wonderful Valentine's Day and enjoy the weekend by being surrounded by those that you love.  And if by chance you are alone for the day,  do something amazing and special for YOU.  You deserve it!

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Before I leave you today, I wanted to remind you that I have some HOT specials going on over at Creative Workshops 

 All of my classes over there are on sale including my POD-Tastic class 

through this weekend

And another SWEET sale going on over at Colourarte  where all of my classes are on special for a limited time, too.  In addition to the sale, each student that registers for a class over at Colourarte will receive a 30.00 coupon to the store for products such as Twinkling H20's, Silks Acrylics, Radiant Gels, and more!

Sharing the creative love since I can't give you a chocolate heart filled with unknown substances in the center of each piece. haha :))

Enjoy your weekend, fill it with things you love to do and surround yourself with those you love. That's what I'll be doing!



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