Blooming Inspiration

The flowery muse is still in residence :-)

And my lovely Instagram friend, Sandy Morcom, asked me if I would share my inspiration for this series of flower paintings. I was going to reply on IG but realised that it wasn't a one sentence answer so here we go...

I love flowers and plants. I have plants all over my house and always like to have some fresh flowers.

I've painted and drawn plants and flowers before but maybe you haven't seen them. Some of these paintings are over in the gallery, some are in sketchbooks, there's a whole series of 'flower fairies' and my goddess paintings (also in the gallery) and journal pages nearly all include some organic shapes or plant forms.

When I was creating my goddess pages for 21 Secrets I started to think that it would be fun to make some paintings just about flowers rather than goddess and flowers. Not that long after, the flowers burst open onto my canvas when I had been having an extremely challenging day with video technology. Having cried with frustration I came into the studio and started to re-do a goddess painting that I had got stuck with.

I turned the canvas upside down, looked into the colours and energy of the painting and saw flowers rather than goddesses. Two hours later and MY energy had transformed PLUS the goddess in the painting was singing to me again.

You see, I'm starting to think that although I love to paint the goddess, she doesn't have to be IN the canvas every time for me to honour her and talk to her.

Since then, I don't seem to have stopped; the paint has flowed, the flowers have bloomed onto my canvases, Ostara is looking over my shoulder and I have her approval.

PLUS these paintings are helping me get through a testing period of health problems - but that may be a post for another day.

If you want to see more flower paintings, just flip back through the last few blog posts or you can visit/follow my Instagram or Flickr feed to see my photos everyday (I'm over at IG and Flickr as Rachellen333).

Phew! That was quite a long answer to your question Sandy, I'm glad I didn't try to reply on IG! It's been useful for me too to examine the why, so thank you :-)

What's blossoming for you dear heart, what motifs are blooming on your canvas and inspiring you right now?  Please share - I always like to hear from you.

From my blossoming heart to yours

Rachel xox

ps don't forget to sign up here to stay in the loop about my upcoming ecourse - painting or journaling??? what do you think? You know what to do...

Some Spring paintings and a sneak peek into my Glorious Goddess workshop

It feels like Spring here - the grape hyacinths are blue and the primroses are yellow - we have crocus and daffodils.  In fact, the sun is shining and all this makes me feel so good...

The Spring weather and the little bursts of colour in the garden have inspired me to make some new paintings.  

These flower paintings have really helped to bring in some fresh new colours and direction.  I think I need a bit of a re-boot and shift of energy after so much time spent on ,my 21 Secrets workshop.  

There's still time to sign up - it launches on 1st April - and I've created a little video to give you a sneak peek into my Glorious Goddess workshop.

And you still have a few hours left to enter my giveaway for a free spot in 21 Secrets Spring 2014.  Entry closes at midnight GMT Friday 14th.  Go to last Friday's blog to enter.

I hope to see you there.  If not, perhaps you would like to join me in my first ecourse, starting in April?? This is still in the planning stages - sign up here to be kept in the loop...

That's it for today!  Lots of love to you and have a great weekend

From my heart to yours

Rachel xox

testing testing

What are your coping strategies when things go wrong or become so frustrating that you want to throw the whole project out of the window?

I'm still in the throes of producing my workshop for 21 Secrets but the technology has been beset by gremlins this week.  Error messages keep appearing, work won't save, I can't find files.

Apparently, Mercury is in retrograde and this affects such things.  I just know it's frustrating, whatever might be causing these problems.

Yesterday, having burst into tears, I walked away from the laptop and down to my studio. The paint flowed and the world turned the right way up again.

The technical problems are still there today.  Frustration abounds but I know I can go and make art and feel better.  

My other coping mechanisms are: 

• ask my technical, left brained son for help (I don't know what I'd do without him)
• going for a walk
• put some music on
• go and do something different - anything - bake a cake, clean, dance round the kitchen
• talk to the cat (she doesn't know anything about technology but she makes me happy). 

What do you do when you are working on something,whatever it is, and nothing seems to be going right?  

Let me know in the comments box, I do love to hear from you

From my heart to yours

Rachel xox

fire in the hold

I hope you are settling into 2014. I've just got time today to squeeze in my (very belated) New Year wishes to you.  And it is The Chinese New Year today, so maybe I'm not so late after all, maybe I'm right on time! 

Welcoming in the Year of the Horse (and I surely am in for the ride) - Gung Hai Faat Choi! May this year be full of prosperity, wealth, health and happiness! May your rice bowl always be full!! (Stealing this from my lovely friend Tina Fu.)

January is usually a slow time of year for me - and as I live in the north east of the UK, this is just as it should be; we are still in the depths of winter. It should be hibernation time - and that is partly how I feel, I just want to cosy up on these dark days, but rippling away beneath the surface, there is much activity...

I'm still dancing round the fire with Vesta.

 

The fire goddess is still informing my daily journal practice. My thought on this is that pre-Christmas and on the Solstice, Vesta was helping me to be in the moment, get cosy and stay home, but now I'm stoking the fires ready to fuel the year ahead...and there's so much coming up I really need this injection of fire energy.

I'll let you in on this activity, what's happening now, coming up and in the planning: 

• I'm preparing my Glorious Goddess workshop for 21 Secrets
• I have a series of workshops planned at the Healing Touch in Staintondale, North Yorkshire - there will be more at my home too, dates coming soon
• I'm planning a series of Goddess workshops with the energy packed Carol Newmarch - more news on that very soon too
• AND Carol has invited me to co-teach on one of her Tuscan Retreats! (I said yes!)
• last but but not least, I'm planning to write my own ecourse - if you'd like to be kept in the loop about that, please sign up here 

Phew!

How's 2014 shaping up for you? Are you still in hibernation mode? Or are you busy busy? I'd love to hear...

I'd also love to know what ecourse you'd like to see me develop. What aspects of my work would you like to know more about? Colour? The Goddess? Art journaling?

From my heart to yours
Rachel xox 

the warmth of winter

I've been winding down to the Solstice, how about you?

I wasn't winding down, I was winding myself up; at the end of last week I was feeling frazzled and stressed, plus my diary for this week was pretty full. How did that happen? But as I put out to the Universe that this run up to Christmas was all getting a bit too much, quite a few things got cancelled or re-arranged. Perhaps everyone else was feeling the same and the Universe stepped in to slow us all down (whether we were aware of it or not).

To help myself slow down, I returned to the studio for some painting time.

I've spent the last 6-9 months painting mostly in turqoise and green, so where did these reds and oranges appear from?

As we got nearer to the Solstice, I realised these fiery colours are for Vesta, goddess of hearth and home. This is what I needed, to draw close to home, light the candles and snuggle up cosy. This season is about the Home, being close to dear ones, and, at the time of the longest night, welcoming the return of the Light.

The painting process has helped me to relax and be in the moment rather than thinking all the time about what I 'have to' achieve. The colours are warming and cosy, grounding and uplifting simultaneously. The works are still in progress but I'm enjoying them immensely.

So my Solstice celebration will mostly be in my studio, with the paints and the canvases and Vesta and her fire. Because that's another thing about the Solstice, which celebrates the victory of the light over the dark - it symbolises bringing Light to our own potential - lighting our own fire... Come on baby...

How are you celebrating this Festival of Light? You're welcome here - I've got mulled wine and mince pies and Jim Morrison's on the iPod.

I wish you a cosy one...

From my heart to yours

Rachel xox

ps don't forget, my Goddess Inspirations Yearbook is on sale and the first month is free :-)