Shop now open!!

Yay!!  My shop is open!!

It's  been a busy couple of weeks here with not much art being done as product development has pretty much taken over but at last prints and greetings cards featuring my work are now available.

I have chosen images of my 'tribes' and details of some of my paintings.

Original paintings will also be for sale; images coming soon.... 

Another work which has been in progress in November is my yearbook: 'Goddess Inspirations - a year of creative inspirations and goddess connection'.  

This ebook will feature a different goddess energy for each month, creative soul quest tasks and exercises to take you through your year, affirmations and journal prompts. The emphasis is on self care and self nourishment. 

The goddess energy has inspired my life and art work since the mid 1980's and after a long hiatus, I started making art again at the beginning of 2011 and the goddess is inspiring my art work once more.  The yearbook is based on my own goddess connections and creative growth. The actual product will be ready for you all next week!!

I'm so excited!!  Here's a sneak peek of one of the goddesses.

Don't forget to sign up for my newsletter (top of the right hand column - except on the shop pages) to get the updates.

From my (very) excited heart to yours

Rachel xox

TRIBAL QUEST

It's been a strange couple of weeks with some family drama sent to test us.  It is all sorted out now (favourably thank goodness) and we can all breath again.

Art has got me through the questions going through my head in the last few days.  It gave me something else to concentrate on during this worrying time and my journal pages gave me a place to spill my thoughts.  If you look at a page, you won't be able to read the words and I don't know what they say either, it was a process and a healing process.  The words were never meant to be re-read, just got out of my head and onto the page.

So the creative process, as I have found now and before, is very healing.  And I have realised that other people are finding my work healing too!! Result!! I get healing doing it and you feel healed looking at it - who knew?

The comments I have had include:

I love your tribe pictures--they make me feel a certain "part of-ness"

I really like your people

I find them healing to look at

I've been using my 'tribal questing' process that I blogged about a few weeks ago in my post Hidden Treasure It is a personal quest for me, unearthing these little people who just seem to step onto the page or float up out of the colour.  

For me, the little figures are parts of me, soul fragments, ancestors or angels looking down and looking after me. They are all these aspects but all parts of me and all parts of all of us, for in reality we are all one.  We are all linked; we are all part of the whole, part of the great Creator.  Perhaps this is why people feel that they resonate with my tribes...

We all need a tribe or tribes to belong to - family, friends, online, offline... My family has had its drama this week, but my online tribe and friends in real life gave me real support.  

One of my favourite tribes is the TAJ Community (Inspirations) group on Facebook.  It's a private group run by Teresa Robinson and Mandy Steward otherwise known as the Art Journallers.  It's a wonderful supportive group whether you are a newbie or a seasoned journaller.  There is real support here for sharing journal pages and inspiration for art journaling.

My other favourite tribe at the moment is Instagram - I've met some wonderful creative people there - another source of real support and inspiration and an amazing willingness to share techniques and ideas.  If you want to meet up I'm Rachellen333 - hope to see you there.

My tribes are also for celebrating!!!  And I'm celebrating taking my first steps towards offering my artwork for sale - to get the updates on this in your mail box (and other news), sign up for my newsletter at the top of the page.  I'd love to hear from you and let you know when I have my prints and paintings for sale.

How are you relating to your tribes this week? Hanging out, having fun, sharing artwork and ideas...

From my questing heart to yours...

Rachel xox

Lotus flowers for Kwan Yin

In Buddhism and Hinduism the lotus flower represents purity and beauty.  The ancient Egyptians believed they related to re-birth and the sun.

For me the lotus flower represents Kwan Yin, the Chinese goddess and bodhisattva (or enlightened being). She is goddess of mercy, compassion and protection and her name means 'she who hears prayers'. Sometimes known as the Buddhist equivalent of Mother Mary, her energy is very gentle and I often ask Kwan Yin for help during my self healing in Angelic Reiki.   

I didn't set out to create a painting for Kwan Yin, and indeed there are three figures in the painting rather than one, but it is what it became.  The new pink colour is hers as are the lotus flowers.

Her message is that we need to have compassion for ourselves above all else and this is a message I really need right now.  There is a lovely quote from the chapter about Kwan Yin in Doreen Virtue's book 'Archangels and Ascended Masters':

Seek not opportunities, but allow them to gently come to you as a lotus flower floats upon the water amidst a gentle breeze....enjoy the process upon which you embark.  Know that each step along the way is akin to a party - a celebration of movement...

And that is why there are three figures dancing and partying amongst the lotus flowers!!  

What small steps are you taking?  Are you being kind to yourself? Really?

Hoping that you will be compassionate with your self this week and that like me you are gently allowing the process, but partying along the way...

From my heart to yours

Rachel xox

(ps I am sitting in my coat writing this - I had been for a walk and the message came through loud and clear from Kwan Yin - I had to sit down and write this as soon as I got in!!)

Let's dance! (the story of a painting)

This little painting kind of took me by surprise as it appeared very quickly; I usually work quite slowly and take ages to finish a piece of work.  

I take photos as I go along because it helps me to see the painting in a different way.  The camera shows you things that you don't necessarily see with the naked eye.  Because I have a series of photos I thought I would show its development step by step.

I chose a canvas I had already prepped with an underpainting of bright colour and then started to unearth the images already contained in the paint and colour.  I liked the movement in the brush strokes of the underpainting and I wanted to keep that energy.  

I was drawn to finding and painting images of the goddess or feminine energy;  I have worked with the goddess for a long time now and the muse usually (though not always) points me in this direction. 

Different elements such as the trees started to appear.  Orange and blue/green quickly established as the dominant colours. 

I found I wanted to keep the yellow architectural elements and the blue organic swirls at the top of the painting.  The figures became more established and the foreground more developed.  The figures needed some more definition and presence but I like that they are all very different and doing different things.  The final step is sharpening and tidying up.

Painting finished!

What artiness have you been up to this last week?  I would love to hear from you.

From my dancing goddess heart to yours

Rachel xox

Journal pages

Hi - it's been a while...

This week I'm proud to have been featured on The Right Brain Planner's website in Teresa Robinson's series inviting 'art journaling friends to share images from their art journals'.  You can see my story and images from my pages at http://www.rightbrainplanner.com/art-journaling-as-a-way-back-into-making-art-rachels-art-her-story/

Thank you Teresa for your invitation and opportunity to share my some of my journal pages.  It made me realise I hadn't shared my art for a few weeks, so here they are...

Last time I posted I had been delving deep with Tracie Hansens's Journalling Quest class from 21 Secrets (Art Journal Playground).  I have been so gripped and absorbed by this art journaling technique that I have continued to use this journal questing to create my pages.

I have been grounding myself with the tree and rock people...

communing with the naiads and water nymphs...

and transforming some dark matter with the orange and purple fire people...

I'm loving watching my tribes appear.  

My aim is to take this means of painting and journaling and use it on canvas and I have started already, but what has happened will have to wait till next time.

What have you been questing for in your journal pages or transforming in your life?

Have a great weekend

From my transforming heart to yours

Rachel xox