The Print Exhibition 2019

The Print 2019 Exhibition opened at the Grove Gallery, Limegrove Lifestyle Centre.

Met up with some Old Friends and connected with some new ones, both Artists and appreciators of art.  I feel that we are all creative and use it in different ways whether we see in numbers, colours, patterns and every thing else. 

I spoke to an economist on the night who talked about understanding the mind of an artist and their inspiration to create - I was sharing that the way I often work is to lay down colours and see what forms and figures emerge - I thought everyone saw the shapes.  

How do you create, do you relate to seeing shapes, forms and patterns in your work?

The young man said he had never experienced looking at a design or pattern and seeing figures but that he loved numbers and saw the patterns in numbers, that there for me speaks of the way each of us use creativity to express in some way.

Some lovely work on display and it is always great to meet new artists and see how they are motivated to create.

Let me know if you get to attend the Print Exhibition, it is on until 17th August, also check out some of the other videos on Exhibitions in Barbados on my YouTube Channel.

If you are interested in taking a digital creative course Bluprint have an offer of 30 Days of Classes for $1

Stay blessed and be a blessing!

Inspirational Shorts - Authenticity

Welcome to this week's Friday Podcast - Episode 113.

Authenticity 

The doors are opening, are you ready to walk through? The time is coming - you have put in the hard work, you stayed up late and got up early, you made the sacrifices and carried on making your mark despite the circumstances. The time has come for you to look back at where you came from, look at all your achievements, no matter how small, you have come a long way!  Be proud of what you have achieved, be proud of your authenticity.

*  *  *

I thought I would give you an insight for the weekends, and prepare you for Mondays.  These Friday podcasts will be typically under 3 minutes, and just a pit stop.

Each Friday I share with you an insight or revelation and I hope that It will bless you as it blesses me.  Today it is to encourage you to go out and do some exercise, in whatever way you want to do it. have a journal or art journal handy, so that you can either make notes or create something from what inspires you. 

You can check me out on the following platforms,

Amanda Trought on Social Media (Realityarts):

www.youtube.com/amandatrought 

www.twitter.com/Realityarts 

www.instagram.com/realityarts/ 

www.facebook.com/realityartss/ 

Longing - Creating in Faith

Welcome to Creating in Faith.  I am now sharing these posts on my podcast with additional insights and you can listen to the podcast below.  There are also some great comments that were made on the original post which also adds some insight to the topic and may be able to bless you.

There are many things if we think about them carefully that we long for.  Some are to make us feel better within ourselves, some for the benefit of other people.  I have come to know and experienced the longing that stirs deep within and that feels like it cannot be remedied - found hand in hand with loss.

 

In my younger days I had many desires, I would have been convinced that some of which I could not live without, and thinking about them now see them as trivial and unimportant. My maturity makes sense of the world and understands how views, and desires change, and in my youth often with the wind.

My thoughts on longing are around the loss of a loved ones - a child, father, best friend and more recently brother.  You wonder how much your heart can take, never for one minute thinking that you will have to bear the callouses of yet another loss.  My longing is wrapped up in wanting to see them again, to say those words that never got said, to feel their presence one more time, to stop for a moment the ache, that dull ache which rests deep within.  There are momentary distractions and life feels like normal, you can breath again and sometimes laugh.  Then you remember, something missing, something you took for granted that it would always be there but you realise a hole remains.  Is it a round peg or a square, whatever shape it is it feels as if there is nothing that can fill it. 

Time they say is a healer it gets better.  I can say that I still wonder what my son Cairo who would be turning 24 this year would be accomplishing and what adventures he would have got up to.  My dad would have been in his 80's there was still so much wisdom untapped and how he would have had so much fun with his grandchildren.  Barbara spurred me on in my journey as an artist we shared much laughter and supported each other, and now my Brother Robert.  I think of him constantly wondering how I can use my creativity to take away the ache, knowing that he would expect me to do all the things I shared with him from my hopes and dreams.  

The longing doesn't go away I guess my you find different ways to respond, and my creativity allows me to say those things I still want to say, and when I don't know what or how I should feel I just stay still and listen.

My faith helps me to put one foot in front of the other taking one day, one thought, one step at a time.  My creativity is helping me to say those things that I need to say whether it is a painting, piece of writing, poetry or something that I have created.  They go hand in hand bridging the gap between the words unsaid, mutterings and groans from the heart, laughter and tears on the opposite sides of the same coin and the understanding that has come over time.

There will always be a longing, we can't hide or pretend.  Some days it will be easier, and others not so easy.  We learn to embrace, to share the memories, to talk about our loved ones as if they are in the next room.  We remember them the good and bad times, the tests and the triumphs and we keep taking those steps reminded of the fragility and remembering to laugh....

Do some work in your art journal and see what areas you want to focus on and express either through colour, words, song, photographs and more.

Stay blessed and be a blessing.

Inspirational Shorts Episodes

Welcome to the Blog today where I share with you my latest podcasts.  I thought I would share with you some of the recordings from the most recent Inspirational Shorts.  Of course every episode is note worthy, but I wanted to make sure that you got your inspirational shot for the weekend.  We have such fast pace lives that it seems as if we only have minutes to 'Get the job done'!

Inspirational shorts is a 2 minute inspirational creative snack, that you can have on a weekly basis.  When you have more time, stop by the podcast on Mondays for some 'Creating in Faith, touching on why we do some of the things we do, and the Arts and Wellness Wednesdays, putting creativity in our lives, looking at what we can do/are doing as artists.  Let me know which one speaks to your creative spirit.

Episode 110

We all have something to be grateful for, and often those very small things that go unnoticed can mean the world of good for others.

Episode 109

Within this episode I talk about Forgiveness, the way that we move on, and sometimes the one that we find the hardest to forgive is ourselves.

Episode 106

The topic for this one is something that I am constantly reminding myself about and that is investing in my health.  We ask our bodies to do so much for us and we can treat it rather shabbily.  What have you done today that invested in your health?  I went to the beach, and it was a long time coming.  One of the bathers remarked that it looked as if I was in heaven, and for that moment It felt so good being in the water, it came close to heaven as I gazed out into the blue waters.  Think about what you are doing to invest in your health on a daily basis and let me know.  You can listen to the recording below.

Episode 103

In Episode 103 of the Podcast I shared about courage, and it is a gentle reminder, each week to step out of your comfort zone and just start.  You can listen by clicking on the image

What do you need courage for - where should I begin now?

Let me know how you get on and while you are at it you might choose to listen to some of the other episodes.  Do you have a creative topic that you would like some information about, are you stuck trying to find which creative turn to make.  Connect with me and I may be able to create a video or episode that speaks to an area that you are passionate about.

Take care for now and stay blessed.

100 Pastel Paintings - I Did It!!!

I have got to the end of the 100 Day Project, where I posted daily pastel paintings on my Instagram.

Check out the video below and see all 100.  I also share about the course I will be running, register your interest HERE to be notified.  And I also have the link to prints below if you would like to order prints, cards and more

It feels weird coming to the end, though in comparison to all the things that I had to do it was a small percentage, it actually feels like a big chunk has gone.  Anyway, the work continues.  I had a lovely time working with the pastels, and would love to try some other brands at some point.

The pastels that I worked with were:

Conte - hard pastel pencils

Rowney - soft pastels, Nouvel Carre - hard pastels

Rembrandt - soft pastels

Royal Langnickle - hard pastels

You can check them out on Amazon and see a range of other brands of pastels there as well.  Here are the paintings in the Series. 

I am very proud of the paintings from the very first one where I was just playing to the last painting where you can see the confidence in the pastels. 

I am working on a course for those who want to learn some beginning hints and tips for working and playing with pastels.  Register Your Interest HERE and I will let you know when the course will be ready.

 I have Prints available of the images, so you can get the images in a variety of forms to suit all price points.

Check out some of the designs this is the print, which can be different sizes

Pastel Prints

On some of my art I have created prints on clothes and other merchandise.  Check the link above.

Moringa Seed Design 

This is a new journey for me so I look forward to welcoming you along with me.  Stay blessed and be a blessing.

Playing with Pastels - 73 - 80

Playing with Pastels - Numbers - 73 - 80

Welcome to the series of images for the next 100 Days of Pastels as part of the 100 Day Project.

I am now getting into the home stretch with these next paintings which number 73 to 80.  I hope that whatever challenges you decided to do you have been able to stay the course.

Here is the video bonus for this painting

If you see any of the paintings that you would like to own as prints please let me know.  If you are new to pastels and want to learn more I also have a mini course coming out, sign up to my mailing list HERE so that you can receive the information when it comes out! 

Stay blessed, will be sharing some more video examples for you to get started as well.

New Work Alert - What's New in Paperless Post

Pastel Painting - Amanda Trought

Welcome to the blog, so glad you could stop by.  I did a blog post review earlier this year on a company called Paperless Post - You can check out the review HERE

They have a new feature which is worth while trying out - their Flyer Option. What is new is that you can now create Flyers using GIFs and stickers and share via email or text.  So the above image was created on their platform and it could also be shared on different social media platforms and still have the writing animated - so you can see the image above.  I shared an image on my Instagram  as a mini video.

They have a wide range of templates for you to use and you can also upload your own images, which you can check out HERE

Remember that you can also send  the flyers out, if you wanted to receive RSVPs to your event you can add this to your flyer, and they have a variety of free templates that you can use, and it is a great way to keep in touch with friends and family around the world.  

New Work

Pastel Prints and More

Prints, posters and cards 

I completed my 100 Days of Pastel Paintings and have the selection available as Prints on my RedBubble site, you can also get the prints on bags, journals and more

Tote Bags and other accessories available

You can even get some of the designs on some lovely summer dresses, t-shirts and other accessories!  Check them out HERE

Art Designs by Amanda Trought on Red Bubble

Designs on Masks - by Amanda Trought

If you would like to see the new work that I have you can visit my Website and for videos go to my YouTube channel, you are also most welcome to subscribe!

Join me on Patreon for art and tutorials not shown anywhere else and behind the scenes, chats and insights just for you!

Check me out HERE

Why not give Paperless Post a try and let me know how you get on.

Stay blessed and be a blessing.

100 Day Project - Playing with Pastels - 65 - 72

Playing with Pastels

As part of the 100 Days of Pastels I have been creating a daily painting with pastels.  I am amazed at how far I have come and that is just through being consistent and trying to have some organisation.

I have been saying all along that you don't have to do 100 days you can do 3 if you want and build up, it is all about what you want to do in your creative practice.  It is a practice to be able to do something consistently, so you have to remember not to measure yourself with anyone else.

Here are days 65 to 72

If you would like to follow the daily images you can do so on my Instagram