I’m over the moon about launching my new website!
I first began writing this welcome blog as March rolled into April. The sun was shining on a chilly Wednesday morning as I reluctantly emerged from hibernation into a season of new aspirations.
My goal for this blog is to inspire and encourage creativity in others. Whether you're an aspiring artist or simply looking for inspiration, I hope to share my experiences and discoveries to help you find your own artistic voice. I’ll be sharing my creative process, the materials I love working with, and some of life’s adventures along the way too. As a children’s author, I’ll also talk a little about book designing and story writing.
Over the past couple of years, I've been on a journey of self-exploration, learning new techniques and styles to expand my creativity. Learning acrylic to develop my painting style was one of them. The more I learned and played with the medium, the more my style and vision developed. Being new to acrylic painting has its challenges. As with any new medium, it takes time to master. I keep referring to my watercolor style experience as a reference, but well, these two styles couldn’t be more different from each other. So, like any good control-freak creative type, I overwork my scene and then wonder in frustration why things weren’t blending.
Since my style is ever-evolving, attending art classes helps me to grow and push my boundaries, and occasionally the magic happens and everything just comes together. Like anything else in life, creating good art requires steady patience through its “ugly stages” or so my neighbor who talks to her eight cats told me one day at the mailbox. Either way, I’m pursuing the muse daily!
One of the inspirations for my art has been my love of nature and the outdoors. My original bear painting, Stargazer, was inspired by a road trip through the mountain pass of Kananaskis. We watched as a momma grizzly foraged by a creek while her cubs played. The imposing terrain of the Rockies was their backdrop and as the day slipped away into the evening shadows, the great night sky danced above us. It was simply something to see. I’ve been fascinated with bears ever since.
I’m working more on my introspective side by embracing a newfound desire of pulling back while learning to let go in life. It hasn’t been easy but I like to think my new style of art reflects this balancing of inner peace. My watercolor painting, Luna, was similarly inspired by time spent in the outdoors, appreciating the simple yet beautiful things in life.
As I embark on this new season of art and blogging, I hope to share more of my creative process with you. I'll be honest – I'm still getting into the routine of writing so don’t quote me yet on how many times you can expect regular updates.
I also want to keep my social channels authentic which means making uber-fantastic reels (UGH!) So bear with me as I navigate video creation content and impressions, and #instagood, #yolo you know, all that stuff. I'm excited to take on the challenge! So, stay tuned for more updates and behind-the-scenes glimpses into my creative world.