Vulnerability—the new “keeping it cool”

Hi ya’ll. Look at me…writing a post AFTER the 30-Day Love Affair is over! It’s true. I feel I have officially transformed my relationship with this lovely blog. Dreading my “blog homework” has now been replaced by thoughts like, “Write a blog? Sure. Totally. Why not? No big deal. Sounds fun.” So, that said, I’m officially popping in to say hello and to thank you for your ah-MAZE-ing comments in response to my last post about my name change. If you haven’t seen it, I highly recommend reading the comments—so moving and inspiring. Reading your comments reminded me why…

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Uniquity + the Declaration of YOU!

After a pretty major spin around the world (aka: my trip to Bali), I am now cozied back up in my Portland studio — favorite mug in hand, favorite tunes playing on my ipad and an epic amount of stories and thoughts to share…soon. As I allow my experiences in Bali to sink in a little more deeply, I want to take a minute to share with you a very special book.

The Declaration of You!, is written by two superstar ladies (and lovely friends of mine), Jessica Swift and Michelle Ward. I’m really proud of them for putting together such a beautiful and important book, because it dives right into the heart of a conversation I seem to be having so much lately. It’s that one about…

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Two New Workshops: England + Australia!

The blooming continues around the world!  I hope you can join me for one of these brand new workshops in England + Australia. Call of the Wild Soul (great name, right!?) The UK Sacred Art Retreat: Sept. 27 – 30, 2012 Somerset, England I am very honored to be a part of this inaugural sacred…

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The real deal on my E-Course

 [Image: Zipporah Lomax] Wow, first of all, THANK YOU for all the lovely comments and positve feedback on my last post.  It really means so much to feel all the love and support as I lean into my own vulnerabilty more and more.  It’s also very motivating for me to keep diving in (to the…

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The Bali Report

Hello and greetings from beautiful Bali.  I am happy to report that the week-long yoga/painting workshop that took place here last week was amazing—almost dream-like actually.  I'll admit, we went in a little bit blind on this one.  The website for the resort looked great, but you never really know what you will find in…

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SEEK YOUR TRIBE

I believe the commonly held idea of artists toiling away alone in their studios, isolated from each other, guarding their techniques and often in some state of despair is becoming a thing of the past.

It’s a myth that no longer serves our collective human need to come together, support each other and move our evolution story forward. The bottom line is:

We need each other.

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SCHOOL OF LIFE

HOME

I’ve been home from my month-long trip to Bali for exactly one week, and I gotta say TIME is so strange when flying halfway around the globe is part of the deal. In some ways I feel like I was just there, but mostly it feels like a distant exotic dream. You know how that goes…

Anyhooo, my trip was lovely. Bali is lovely. My students were awesome and many thresholds were crossed. I know I’ve said it before, but AGAIN, I can hardly believe I get to do this work in the world…and all over the world at that.

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Saying YES, feeling CLEAR, and making RAD stuff

As you likely know, I’m a big fan of collaboration, so when Matt Butler, the dynamic conductor of the amazing Everyone Orchestra, asked me if I’d be interested in painting a tuxedo jacket and matching hat for him, it was a very clear YES.

Let me start by saying that I totally dig the whole concept behind the Everyone Orchestra. Their positive high-energy shows blend a unique line-up of different (always uber-talented) musicians and there is no “Set List” … only improvisation, talent and trust.

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Pushing Boundaries + Opening Up

After a year of very little painting (been just a tad busy teaching 14 workshops, writing a book and launching an E-Course…yikes!), I spent the last month grooving away in my new studio—such soul food for this hungry soulful painter!  I decided I needed to take a little bit of my own advice and be…

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PROJECT GROUND OUT + THE ENJOYMENT FACTOR

“REMEMBER THE ENJOYMENT FACTOR”

This sweet reminder was offered up by my yoga teacher yesterday. In fact, remembering to enjoy the experience was the focus of the entire class. We were given permission to throw away strict yoga “rules” and ideas about what the practice was supposed to look like. Instead, we were encouraged to move and breathe in a way that simply….FELT GOOD.

Ah yes. That.

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Prettiest holiday cards EVER

OK. I’m admittedly not being very humble here, but seriously you guys, these new holiday cards designed by Papaya! are so GORGEOUS…so much so that I’m actually feeling inspired to send holiday cards for the first time in, like, fifteen years. Perhaps they will inspire you too? We are selling packs of five (of the same design) for $20, and packs of ten (one of each design) for only $30 (shipping within the US is included).
Get your holiday cheer on today!

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Painting is good medicine

"Write blog post" has been on my to do list for the past three weeks.  Every time I look at my list it just stares back at me— "Hellloooo, remember me?"  Well, let me just say that I have not forgotten about you my sweet little blog!  I have just been completely immersed in my…

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Online Mini Painting Sale Tomorrow!

One of my favorite conversations to have with people is about what REALLY lights them up. It is one the most direct ways to understand a person’s heart and soul-calling and often leads to the kind of juicy conversations I love the most.

My “light up” moments usually happen when I’m painting and connecting with people I am truly inspired by. So, for the past year I’ve been combining these passions by exploring collaborative painting, and guess what? I love it.

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On Letting Go

One of the big changes I made to my current Bloom True E-Course was shifting the theme of Week Two from ‘Play’ to ‘Letting Go.’ The other week’s themes — Intuition, Your Inspiring Life, Being Brave and Blooming True — remain the same, but there was always something about ‘Play’ that never totally resonated with me.

And then it hit me. ‘Play” is simply one way of letting go.

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On *not* going to Burning Man

As I sit here in my neighborhood coffee shop in Portland, OR, there are 60,000 plus people gathered in the Nevada dessert celebrating creativity, community, art and radical self expression — yep, pretty much all my favorite things. I do not hesitate to say that these lucky people are attending the best party on Earth right now and that party is called Burning Man.

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My 30-Day Blog Love Affair:: Day #1. It’s on!

I was originally going to call this little experiment my, “30-Day Blog Challenge” but after some consideration, I quickly realized that calling this challenge a challenge would only make it feel, well, more challenging. So, I’m doing what any firm believer in the Law of Attraction would do, and calling it what I hope it will become a good ol’ fashioned love affair.

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Life Book 2014 Give Away Winner Announced

Hi all. Just a quick note to thank you for your wonderful comments about why you would like to participate in Life Book 2014. It was a pleasure to read them all and feel your excitement. I’m happy to announce that the winner of this year-long art making extravaganza is Maureen McCauley of lightofdaystories.com. Congrats Maureen! Hope you enjoy the journey that is Life Book…

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Leaning In

We called it, “Bloom True Moves.” It was an experiment in collaboration. It was new territory. And it was deeply healing. From our opening circle it was obvious that this group of 18 women were ready to step into something new. The feeling in the room was palpable—the feeling was one of readiness.

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Late night inspiration + bloom true mini lessons

I’m happy to say I’ve been on a bit of a painting roll over the past few days. My inspiration has been striking late at night when it’s super quiet and cool and my intention has been to explore new territory, have fun and play. Aaaaaaaaand, guess what? Every time I approach my work with this attitude (ie: not making it MEAN more than simply playing with colors and marks), rad new things seem to transpire. (note to self).

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Joying Up!

This post is part of my friend Hannah Marcotti’s The Joy Up Stories Series. The Joy Up begins August 1st (that’s tomorrow!) with hundreds of women who are ready to claim their joy and deepen love, ritual, trust and rhythm. Join in the joy by clicking here.

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JANUARY STUDIO DIARY + FREE COLOR MIXING VIDEO

One of my favorite ways to explore new territory and keep things interesting is to mix up my own new colors.

In one of this month’s videos, I share a few super easy tips on how to mix your own colors. Mixing colors is such an awesome way to keep the spark of inspiration alive in your work. It’s also a powerful way to set your paintings apart with colors that are all your own.

I’m happy to give you an idea of what you will find in each Studio Diary by offering you a free peek at this month’s Color Mixing video.

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Introducing: “Heart to Hand: A Love Letter Project”

I love this time of year for all the obvious reasons…the coziness, the boots and scarves, the deliciousness of gathering with friends around a fire, the steamy drinks. You know, all the usual suspects. However, the real magic of this time of year comes for me in the form of gratitude and time for deep soul reflection (i.e. getting my priorities straight). I’ve been doing quite a bit of both lately.

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Introducing Soul Shine Studio!

I’m happy to say I’ve been on a bit of a painting roll over the past few days. My inspiration has been striking late at night when it’s super quiet and cool and my intention has been to explore new territory, have fun and play. Aaaaaaaaand, guess what? Every time I approach my work with this attitude (ie: not making it MEAN more than simply playing with colors and marks), rad new things seem to transpire. (note to self).

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I Heart Bali.

I seriously cannot believe I have been home from Bali for almost a month already!

Woah….life….moves….fast.

However, between jet-lag recovery, a sick week in bed, a rare five-day visit from my best friend and a week of catching up on piles of life and work, I guess it all pencils out. In some ways, the trip feels like a distant exotic dream at this point, but every time I burn one of my treasured Balinese incense sticks, I am magically transported right back to my tiny beloved island on the other side of the world. Swoon.

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Hello Soul. Hello Business.

I'm guessing that many of you have already heard about this amazing new E-Course but just in case you haven't heard, I'm feeling moved to tell ya all about it.  Why?  Because I believe the world, especially the world of doing business, is in desparate need of a shift—a shift towards more passion, more purpose,…

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GROWING OLDER = GETTING WISER = FREEING UP

THE BEAUTY OF AGING

When I received an invitation from Susannah Conway to participate in a blog series about the AWESOMENESS of aging, I got full body goose bumps, aka “truth bumps.”

How refreshing to focus on the positive aspects of aging, rather than replaying the same old, “how to hold onto your youth” conversation, over and over again.

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FROM STUCK —> TO FEELIN’ IT :: A ROAD MAP THROUGH PAINTERS BLOCK

LAST NIGHT WAS THE PERFECT NIGHT TO PAINT.

My schedule was clear, the air felt delicious and it was still light out at 9pm. I turned up the music, cleaned off my palette, lit a candle, burned some sage and hung a halfway finished painting on the wall. To be honest, I wasn’t feeling incredibly inspired, but typically I just need to START in order to find my rhythm.

So, I started…

I choose a few of my fave colors of the moment (grey, yellow, violet, magenta and white), and began to move the paint around. I tried out some of my signature moves, turned the canvas upside down and waited for the magic to take hold. Any minute now…

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Embracing awkward

Question: Is there something you have always wanted to do that lingers in the back of your mind…whispering? I actually have a bit of a choir going on up there, so much to do in this one short life. But I’m happy to say I just checked off one lil’ desire: TRAPEZE & AERIAL…

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Dreamy San Miguel de Allende

Hi friends….and greetings from beautiful San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.

I’m in the midst of fulfilling a dream I’ve had for awhile to live and paint in this magical mountain town, and I’m happy to say it’s finally happening!

This is not my first time here. For the past two years, I’ve taught workshops in San Miguel, each time craving more time to soak up the colors and vibrant culture here and to translate this inspiration into my own paintings. I’ll be teaching here again next week, but first…some me time.

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Doodles Unleashed

There are so many wonderful new art books coming out these days—it's awesome.  I love that artists are getting a chance to offer the world their unique perspectives and techniques and that so many students are able to learn from these inspiring people—inpiration at our fingertips!  I recently had the pleasure of reading Traci Bautista's…

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CREATIVE REVOLUTION PRE-ORDER GIVEAWAY WINNERS ANNOUNCED!

We’re Kinda Blown Away Over Here.

Thanks to you, my second book, Creative Revolution: Personal Transformation through Brave Intuitive Painting, has been sitting at the TOP of the “Hot New Releases in Acrylic Painting” list for the last two weeks!

Seriously you guys, what an honor. THANK YOU for trusting in this new vision and for pre-ordering the book months in advance. I cannot wait till you have it in your hot little hands.

As a tiny token of my appreciation, I’m happy to send love-packed boxes of Flora goodies to these three awesome Giveaway winners:

JACKIE WOOD + JOANNA PRICE + LOUISE WARD. CONGRATS TO YOU ALL!

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