When in search of Inspiration...Dance

It happens to every artist (I think)... they find something amazing and go with it for awhile.. but then the inspirational buzz wears off.. and it starts to get harder and harder to make each mark. At least this is what has happened to me this past week. So today I am coming back to my computer, outside the studio, and searching for empowering sources of inspiration to get me back into the studio and pick up my brush with fresh energy. 

A common first stop for me on this personal journey is an artist whose work and practice I greatly admire, Flora Bowley of Brave Intuitive Painting. Her video is beautiful and immensely inspiring (it makes me want to throw out my oils and convert back to acrylics), PLUS she's a fellow Oregonian!

It is my desire to honor and celebrate the natural world by creating bold, yet delicate, new “landscapes,” rich with color, soul and imagination.  My work is created through a unique process of spontaneously layering free flowing color and mark-making with carefully rendered organic forms.  These forms or “characters,” such as wings, sprouts, feathers, hives, figures, stars, branches, petals and pods co-mingle with vibrant color fields to tell stories of magical places born from dreams, a close observation and a deep connection to all living things.  Often changing courses along the way, I find joy in allowing my paintings to unfold naturally as I experiment playfully with color, form and composition.  Ultimately, I consider my work to be a celebration of life; chaotic, subtle, beautiful, mystical and ever-changing. - Flora Bowley's artist statement

"Let go and be brave" is exactly what I need to remind myself when I am working in the studio. So often I get stuck in a space because I am so unsure of what it should look like. I need to let go of these expectations and allow the creativity and inspiration to unfold itself. Surely part of this block has a lot to do with my chosen medium of ink and paintbrush, such permanent marks are made each time I touch brush tip to surface. This was a large part of why I chose this medium, so that I would be faced with my decisions and have to stick with them, to learn to more gracefully move through and beyond those decisions. To be able to work with "mistakes" that are made (I like to think of them more often as "obstacles" than mistakes"). 

“Burn Bright” , Flora Bowley, 36″ x 48″, acrylic on canvas

“Live Your Truth” , Flora Bowley, 48″ x 48″, acrylic on canvas

Flora Bowley's paintings are so whimsical and free, they make me want to dance and paint, to get out my messy stuff and "Trip the Light Fantastic" with a surface. Her marks flow so fluidly from her hands and from every tool within reach, and you can see her soul pour forth onto the canvas as she works from one mark to another. It is lovely to watch her work in the video, what a dream it would be to spend a day painting with her (or even just be in her studio). I know one day I will save up for, and make it to a workshop in Portland with her, and oh what a grand experience it shall be! For now, I shall settle for buying her book and maybe even the painting journal she has for sale (I love books). 

So I think I will head back into my studio now to finish my last two paintings for my "Tripping the Line Fantastique" show series that has been running for the last few months at the Edenvale Enoteca Wine Bar. It has been such a great experience and journey, I am feeling much more confident in my path thanks to all the wonderful support around me. If you are reading this, you are supporting me, my art, and my creative path... so thank you and I love you. 

Now..To go forth, Dream(Dance) and so Create!

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Come back on February 9th for my next blog post!

Have a topic or post suggestion you'd like to see me post? Let me know! 

Here is my (very malleable) schedule for upcoming blog posts:
-February 9th: How I write my artist statement (AKA: Artist Statements for Procrastinators)
-February 16th: Featured artist: Archan Nair
-February 23rd: ARTicle
-March 2nd: Inspiration post/Pinterest Board feature
-March 9th: My creative processes
-March 16th: Featured artist:____________ (tbd)
-March 23rd: ARTicle
-March 30th: BIRTHDAY BLOG! (A reflection on 28 years of living a creative life)