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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FINDING YOUR OWN STYLE – SAMPLE VIDEO!

This month’s Studio Diary is all about finding your own style (aka a super hot topic), and so many unique paintings are being born as a result!

Seriously ya’ll, good stuff is happening, and I couldn’t be more proud of all the folks who are really embracing this theme and discovering their own style along the way.

To get more of a feel for the videos, I’m happy to offer you a four clips from this month’s Creative Exercises. To watch the sample videos, simply click the images below and enjoy!

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FINDING INSPIRATION

Besides, “What kind of dog is Pearl?” there are two questions I hear on a regular basis:

“Where do you find inspiration, and how do you stay inspired?”

I could happily riff on these gems for days, but I’ll keep it clear and to the point in this week’s Hey Flora Episode.

And by the way, Peal is a Maremma Sheepdog! 🙂

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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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CREATIVE BUSINESS WITH HEART

September’s Diary is all about Creative Business with Heart. In this Diary, we’ll dive into my favorite practical and intuitive tools to support a soulful, sustainable and successful creative business.

Every Diary also includes a special Diving Deeper Podcast where I share my thoughts on questions from the Studio Diaries community. The podcast this month is SO full of great questions about creative business, I’m happy to share the entire recording with you right here. Enjoy!

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Changing my tune…and SINGING!

Hi.  I'm so glad you are still here even though I've been such a "bad blogger" lately.  To be honest, I've had this snarky little voice running through my head whining, "I don't wanna blog.  I don't wanna talk about my life online.  I only want to ride my bike through Portland's sunshiny streets and…

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CENTERED EXPANSION + PORTLAND STUDIO TOUR!

AS MANY OF YOU KNOW, I’M MAKING SOME PRETTY MASSIVE SHIFTS IN MY LIFE RIGHT NOW.

After four years of fairly intense globe-trotting to spread the Bloom True love, I’m shifting gears and rooting down in my hometown of Portland, OR.

In support of this grand shift, I moved out of my little backyard studio into a large and lovely (like woah) studio nestled in a groovy creative industrial area about ten minutes from my house. I feel beyond blessed to have found such a magical space that is EXACTLY what I envisioned, hoped and prayed to find.

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BUSTING THE STARVING ARTIST MYTH

In this week’s Hey Flora: Weekly Tidbits for Your Creative Adventure, I’m sharing a few insights into how I was able to make money from my art in the early days of my career.

If starting a business as an artist feels overwhelming or straight up impossible, this one’s for you!

For more in-depth conversations about art, biz and busting the starving artist myth, head on over to my Press Page, and scroll down to the bottom of the page for interviews. I recommend starting with The Creative Entrepreneur, Luna Jaffe, and the Abundant Artist!

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Book Release + Signings!

It's official people.  My first book, "Brave Intuitive Painting" has hit the shelves—it's time to celebrate!  Creating this book was truly an act of love, a deep journey of the soul and one of the most challenging things I've ever done.  I poured myself into this baby, and I'm so excited to share it with…

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Blooming True Mexican Style

I must admit that trying to convey the magnitude of magic that was present during our week-long workshop in Mexico is a little daunting, but here goes… Yep, that's San Miguel de Allende, a beautiful gem of a city nestled in the Sierra Madres Mountains and fondly referred to as El Corazon de Mexico (the…

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BLOOMING TRUE IN SAN MIGUEL DE ALLENDE, MEXICO

WHAT AN AMAZING WEEK THIS HAS BEEN.

Sharing seven soulful days of painting, laughing and connecting with sixteen amazing women gathered from all parts of the globe (U.S., Canada, Honduras and South Africa), has left me, once again, in a state of gratitude and awe for the work I get to do in this world.

Although an incredible amount of energy goes into creating these special retreats, I can’t think of anything more rewarding than being a part of the beautiful transformations I witnessed here this week…on and off the canvas.

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Bloom True TRIBE :: Student Gallery!

Today is a big day around here. It’s the very first day of “school” for my latest group of Bloom True E-Course students and excitement is in the air! In honor of this new brave beginning, I’m sharing some of the awesome work and reflections from past bloomers. Gotta admit, I’m pretty proud of them — you’ll see why.

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