Update - Survival and Triumph Online Auction - 24th Sept - 2nd October 2017

I am thrilled to have been chosen to be part of the online auction called Survival and Triumph.  The auction will occur from September 24th Noon EST to October 2nd at 3pm EST.

Me, Myself and I - Mixed Media Art

The artists include:

Donna Davies Timm, Lauren Rudolph,, Annie Hamman, Jennifer Bonneteau, Lara Provost, Renata Loree, Jennifer Albin, Lynda Fortin King, Mystele Kirkeeng, Donna L. Martin, Katrina Koltes, Jenny Doh, Dana Primrose Bloede and ME!  I feel honored to be part of the line up.

Each day there will be two artists. Dates for each artist are a surprise. Our auctions will run from 12 noon (first day), 1pm EST each day thereafter to 11:30 am EST the following day. Then the next two artists will begin at 1pm EST noon until all 14 artists are featured. Each artist will have approximately 15-25 pieces up for auction.

The auction is being hosted by Stephanie Gagos on Facebook and she has been sharing some of the work so far that will be included in the auction.

Here is a few of my pieces so far, I will be sharing more over the next few weeks.  If you would like to attend the auction you can do so HERE

Engage - Mixed Media Art Sculpture 

Remember to check out the other artists.  Our work is being shared on a daily basis on the Facebook group, and we would love to have you attend.

Me, Myself and I - Mixed Media Art

Anonymous Charity Art Show - starts today!

The Event

I will be taking part in the Anonymous Charity Art Show again this year, which is run by the The Frame & Art Co

I have submitted 6 pieces to this charity event and it would be great to have you come out and join us, if your anywhere near Barbados! You will be able to see art and purchase art from a great list of artists.

The 'Anonymous' Charity Art Show Opens TODAY between 5.30pm and 8.30pm and continues to 14th January 2017 and you will be able to see over 150 original paintings.

The Art

Each painting is created on 12” x 12” canvases and in a variety of styles and subject matter, and will be sold for $350 Bds each.  The artists will remain a mystery until after the purchase.  This is amazing value for an original work of art, and with Christmas and birthdays and other celebratory events coming up they do make beautiful gifts.  

In fact why wait until you have a reason, you don't need a reason to purchase art, at the end of the day it is a great way to support artists and raise funds for charity as well.

The Charity

A portion of the proceeds will go towards the Nature Fun Ranch, run by Corey A Lane, which helps young people with their personal development, by cultivating positive outlooks. The ranch allows young people to speak freely with one another about important topics, including HIV/AIDS, providing them with a positive focus to guide their lives in the right direction, in a rural setting while tending to horses, working vegetable patches, or managing fish hatcheries.

Artists participating

Here is a list of the artists participating in this exhibition, some are established artists and some are up and coming - including yours truly there in the mix as well! : 

Akilah Watts, Alanis Forde, Alexandra Hanschell, Alison Chapman Andrews, Amanda Springer, Ancel Daniel, Andy Peirce, Angela Simpson, Anika Millington, Anna Gibson, Barbara Pickering Caroline Gill, Carol Dawn Hunte, Cathy Alkins, Cherise Harris, Christine Farmer, Corrie Scott, Darla Trotman, Donald Johnson Erika Haddad, Elizabeth McKenzie, Gail Oelmann, Heather Dawn Scott, Heather Meyer, Heidi Berger, Helen Tulip, Jackie Philip Jared Burton, Jean Blades, Jeanne Morgan, Julianne Gill, Julia Seymour, Justin Downey, Justin Small, Katherine Kennedy, Kate Hoenen, Keyonne Yarde, Kristine Choy, Linda Hallwood, Linda Tudor, Loralie Seymour, Lorna Rose, Lorna Wilson, Maria Stanford, Mario Holder, Markley Clarke, Michael Alkins, Michelle Bowe Moreen Beale, Morissa Singh, Natalie Atkins-Hinds, Norma Farmer, Patricia Hernandez, Penny Rollitt, Rachel Mouttet, Rosalie Chiara Roseanne Milligan, Rosemary Ellis, Rosemary Parkinson, Shanika Grimes, Shari Garnes, Sian Pampellone, Simply Saffie, Stella Hackett, Sue Williams, Susan Alleyne Forde, Tanya Foster, Wayne Hinds, Yasmin Vizcarrando and Yolande Lewis.

I am looking forward to seeing you there, it will be great!  If you cannot make it today, make sure that you take the time to visit the gallery you have until 14th January 2017!

She went into the city - I'm Backkkkk!

She came to the city - Mixed media Art - Realityarts

Wow, it has been a while since I have posted, I can't quite believe that time has flown so quickly.  I seem to have so many things on the last two months that I got lost in it all and before you knew it we are at the end of September. 

I do enjoy sharing my posts and things I get up to and will be getting my groove back on and showing you some 'how to' videos using different materials and creating out of recycled materials.  I will share in my next post what I got up to and photos and over the next few weeks share my updated blog schedule to keep you inspired and encouraged and taking a chance - stepping out in faith as you embrace your creative self.  I have more teaching and workshops to share, and more!

This is a painting and video process that I did back in August, and it shows 'Lady Peace' entering the city.  We need peace right now around the world and it takes all of us to bring that to a reality.  We have to call out injustices in all walks of life, in all communities, business, society, it cannot be tolerated.

She came to the city - Mixed media art

We each have within us a unique spark, a gift and treasure that is to share with others around the world.  Don't be hating on others, deal with what you have, don't compare yourself to another, you don't know what they went through to get to where they are - but you have an incredible gift, you just need to know how to use it.

She came to the city to spread peace, love, grace, mercy and hope.  Stay blessed and be a blessing!

Retreat Away from Home

When you think about a retreat what first comes to mind for you.  I know I think of pampering, spa sessions, not having to cook, and if it is a creative retreat then one filled with art workshops and spending time with like minded others.

A couple of Saturdays ago my local church held a retreat day for the women, both young and old, the children were also welcome as well, and it was great to see every one take part and share their insights.  I was asked to bring along some art materials.  I took some collage, and mark making material to add to the other creative material available.

Talking art journals

The session lasted 3 hours and it is amazing just what you can fit into the time.  One of women (Lisa) gave a talk on making new beginnings, making that start, and it was a very inspiring talk, that reminded me that I should spend more time journalling and also something I have been enjoying for a while Art journalling.  The other thing that stood out for me was talking about timelines, and noting significant timelines during the course of your life, this is something that you could combine really well with journalling. 

Making paint pallets out of cardboard

I spent some time sharing how to use some of the materials that I brought, such as the collage material, and the tools that can be used to create texture within your art work.

I shared with some of the women on my table how I used bible and dictionary pages along with other ephemera to create a collage.

For this collage I create flowers out of bible pages and a mixed ephemera loosely adding color to the pages

I then spent some time cutting them out and applying to a decorated background and adding additional colors.  3 hours fly when your having fun and we all got an opportunity to share how we were impacted by the whole session.  We were all spiritually fed as well as creatively.  Once I got home, I was still in the flow of creative experimenting and got to add some finishing touches to my two pieces.

Grounded - Mixed Media Art

Here is another one that I completed, and once home added the white detail to the flowers.  The flowers have been inspired by ones that we were shown on a session with Tiare Smith as part of The Journey Within Year long Art Journal Workshop, which was great!

How does your garden grow?

I really enjoyed creating the flowers, it allows you to be so free with your work, they are easy to create and look so pretty.  I also enjoyed every aspect of the Retreat Day, as it allowed us the time to reflect and refocus and look at how we can give ourselves a fresh start.

For a limited time on Tiare's site through to the end of Valentine’s Day get 10% off workshops and bundles (discount good on Tiare Smith Designs hosted workshop only. Does not apply to The Journey Within). In one of the courses she shows you how to make the imagery with the flowers and more.  Just enter code: IAMLOVE at checkout.  

Why not take yourself on an online retreat and take the time to meet with your creative self and grow.

My Color is Beautiful Art Online Course - Week 1 - Courage

We have been having a great time on the first week of My Color is Beautiful Art Online Course, and despite drawing on a regular basis, it is quite easy to forget to play and enjoy the work, rather than stick to rigid routines.

You can watch me in action in the video below to see how I got from a blank piece of paper to the image below.

This week saw me starting out playing with backgrounds and using a limited palette and enjoying the process. The colors I chose to use were ones that I rarely take out and they have been sitting at the back and out of the way, and together they seem to blend well.  This is a great exercise and one that I want to keep up and creating background pages.

After I had finished the background page, I then went on to create an image from the page, seeing what I could pull out of the paint,  Little by little a character began to come forth and had a message or a reminder to me, and that was to take courage.  I guess at some point or another we all have to face things that can be a bit challenging, but once we take that step we can be surprised at how much we had in side that was better than we had originally thought.

Here is some of the detail of the piece, I created a lot of texture just by using gesso and mark making tools

And the message of courage came shining through

Week 1 of My Color is Beautiful Art has started and there is still time to sign up, you will receive:

• 10 positive, creative energy boosts and exercises, videos and/or pdf’s provided.  

• 1 exercise per week for 10 weeks, resulting in feelings of joy, confidence, happiness, acceptance and love!

• Fun giveaways/prizes! and much more!

• The Classroom access will be open until December 31, 2015.

If you would like to sign up, you can REGISTER HERE and it will take you to the page.  

Looking forward to having you create with us!