You know, I realized one day that I never painted all the zoo babies together. And come on, the zoo babies need to be together!  In fact this is also the first ever Creative Thursday Rhino. So here they are, introducing the "zoo babies" print, now available in the shop in a new size of 14 x 11 in.

As you know I’m not a big discounts/art sales kind of artist. However the prospect of having a Black Friday through Cyber Monday special offer this year sounded like fun. Starting today Friday, November 26 through Monday November 30 at 11:59 pm PST if you purchase a new "zoo babies" print, you will get a free 8 1/2 x 11 print of your choice to accompany it. Just type "black friday" in the "notes to seller" at checkout along with the title of the additional print. 

Enjoy! and wishing you a happy to start of the holiday season!

Over the years I’ve had requests for an assortment of Creative Thursday cards. For those of you who have been waiting, I finally listened and a set of 10 postcards it is!

The hardest part of putting these together = putting these together. It was really difficult for me to choose my favorite images while also thinking about what might be your favorite. But I did my best to put a grouping together that would not only complement each other but might work well for different occasions that you would use them for, or of course you can also keep them for yourself ~ even pop them into a small frame and add them to your art collection.

With a front and a back cover, the postcards are grouped together in a little book format. Just pull out the one you want when you’re ready to use it. Sized at 4 x 6 in., these can be sent in the mail as is, or combine them with your favorite envelope. You can find them right here in the shop!

I’ve skipped town and am off in a little vacation in honor of the upcoming Thanksgiving Holiday, so I’ll be popping in out this week as time and inspiration allow. 

I wish you happy days ahead, and since it’s that time of year where we come together in this country in celebration of gratitude, I want to tell you again just how thankful I am that I get to meet up with such lovely people in this online world that we share.

5 x 5 in.

Didn’t I just say that I felt that the word 'dream' was overused? I did. And I’m still using it in the title of this painting. Because even though the phraseology, 'following your dreams' is overused these days, I still believe in it.

happy weekend.

{click here to buy original}

Because we are fun, a little silly ~ we are super good singers, and we laugh A LOT. :) 

{oh and sometimes using your Photo Booth as a webcam, does not record your sound and sometimes it does when you think it isn’t}

A video post titled "Ode to Photo Booth" ~ music courtesy of the Chemical Brothers "Where do I Begin" from the Vanilla Sky soundtrack

Not that you need much convincing, because the new e-course is filling up, so if you want to join in be sure to register early.

Ok, really. You have no idea how long I’ve been waffling on whether to post this video or not. You’ll know this because the clothing I have on is from summer like weather and it’s now fall like weather. And why have I been waffling, more like agonizing over this is? Because I realized that I don’t really let you in to my silly side on the blog. And I might be just a little bored with things as usual over here.

I know that while you get my fun side through my art and sometimes you get my sassy side if you look out for it in certain posts and/or tweets. Bits of my personal life seep in occasionally, but let’s face it, this blog is primarily about me and my work. It always comes back to Creative Thursday, and the more thoughtful, thought-provoking side I share with you.

And this video is not about changing the dynamic of my blog per say, but it is challenging me {once again} to take a step further in being more transparent, and more myself. Of course, part of the reason for this is that Sean and I took a very big step this week, in releasing our new e-course together. Mostly private people, it’s a challenge for us to share more of ourselves and our lives together in this way. But our enthusiasm for inspiring and encouraging other’s to follow their creative bliss is outweighing the awkwardness of stepping into entirely new territory.  And following your bliss, while thoughtful and challenging sometimes, should always come back to being fun. The longer I do any of this, well the longer I’m alive really, the more I realize that I tend to take all of this much too seriously sometimes.

The reason I wanted to share this video with you and record it on my blog for posterity :) is not only because it makes me cry laughing every time I see it, still, and not because Outi told me to I should post it so she can watch it again and again, but because this is one of the best truest moments I can share with you of what it’s really like to spend a fun moment with Sean and I. Much like this video, that you may remember,  we had no intention of posting this publicly, so there’s no pretense. And we thought of recording something for you, so you that you get to know us both a little better, but truthfully nothing will even come close to tapping in to the real way we are relating to one another in this video.

The premise of this video is that with all the trouble Photo Booth had been giving me, which my students and those of you who follow my blog know ~ basically Photo Booth would record you without sound randomly, so you could put your heart and soul into your video recording only to have no sound at all ~ I digress...when we recorded this we also thought we’d have no sound, hence the reason for our song.

I know from students in the e-course I teach, and the consensus among my blogging friends, how much we all struggle with "how personal to be online"? And it’s funny just how vulnerable it can feel to release more and more of who you are in this environment. But I just keep going forward in the attempt to stay real with you. It’s almost as if you can’t keep blogging and not progress in your own evolution and also how the blog wants you to evolve. I mean, good Lord, I’m not just creating art and podcasting anymore, I’m teaching classes in person, speaking in public and teaching an e-course with the person closest to me and I want to do all of that being as genuine as I can be. I still plan to keep my private life mostly private but now at least you also know my silly side and what I look like when I laugh until I cry and spin around to music in my desk chair. 

I hope this gives you more laughter today, since that seems to be the theme of this Creative Thursday.

Next week we will be spending Thanksgiving with Sean’s family of which Wyatt is a member. He’s one of my favorite people on the planet ~ the sweetest. A person full of joy, excitement for life and wisdom which you can see above. He’s also 5 years old.

I’m thinking life could and should really be this straightforward and I also laughed so hard, I cried. I thought this might bring you a little smile today. 

For as long as I can remember, I’ve been a seeker. The girl with all the questions, yeah that’s me. The girl with all the questions that a lot of people don’t always want to answer ~ also me. I want nothing more than to have a full and honest understanding of this life. And more than that I want to live a life I truly want. The more clarity I get, the more I realize that the opportunities for each and every one of us to live a life we truly want is growing exponentially every day. 

You already know that along with my passion for living, is the passion to share my story with others so that they know it’s possible to pursue the life of their dreams, {i.e. podcasts before I knew where I was headed creatively, blog posts that often turn into thoughts on living,  and now e-courses}. I hesitate to use the word "dreams" because it feels ethereal and overused these days. But it still all comes down to this. Everyone of us imagines our life out ahead of us and everyone of us has a vision for how that will look. And while we may be happy with our present situation, refining our vision as we move forward is a natural evolution. It is no exaggeration that we live in a time where that vision can become our reality. And I’m not just saying this because I heard it somewhere or read it in a book and decided it was truth. I’m saying this from a place of proving it to myself. If I had given up at any point along the way, forgoing my dream, my vision for my life, I wouldn’t be writing this post to you now. You wouldn’t be visiting me here at this blog getting the chance to see my art and creations every day.

While I’m finding the answers through my own experimenting and awareness, the only way I believe one should come to their own conclusions ~ I wouldn’t have even known what was possible if it were not for the stories of others.  I’ve always found inspiration and solace in hearing other people share their experiences in traveling a similar path. 

So in this e-course, that we are officially announcing today! there will be two of us leading a discussion, offering two perspectives, on traveling this creative path.

Sean and I are creative individuals who share the belief that real success is the living of a creatively fulfilling life, accompanied by financial freedom. We believe in living life by your own rules. We share a passion for creativity and teaching. And that’s why I’m excited to announce that we are teaming up to bring you this e-course together. 

And right about now you may be wondering why I’ve decided to have Sean join me? Well for quite a few, obvious, reasons. Aside from years of experience in acting, writing and teaching, he is a daily inspiration to me. 

His bravery and commitment to live a creative life, long before I was ever a part of it has inspired me to continue on this path every day. And now the support and encouragement he continually offers me  in our life together is one of the biggest reasons my creativity flourishes in the way that it does. 

Also with so many of us bravely stepping into the life that was meant to be ours, it is a time for those who are willing and inspired to share the steps they’ve taken with those coming up. I’ll be honest and say that in my online world that I frequent I only hear the creative voices of women. I feel it’s time that we also hear from more of the men on this journey.

You can learn more about the e-course here and register for the session beginning Tuesday, January 12, 2010.

And to get to know Sean a little better you can listen to his thoughts on committing to the creative path by clicking on the audio player above.

We hope you’ll join us, if you feel inspired to, not only for the support, encouragement and years of combined knowledge we can’t wait to impart to you, but because it’s going to be super, super FUN!

6 x 6 in.

Today I’m especially thankful for

1. Sean

2. A LOT of laughter

3. feeling FIRED UP!

4. champagne cocktails 

5. and bears with antlers

what are you thankful for?

have a GREAT weekend xoxo

{original is sold}

Very excited about this! {I ask you ~ and when am I usually not excited about something I share on this blog? ~ well fine, when someone steals my art, otherwise, darn excited.} I know the use of exclamation marks is getting out of hand in all of my online correspondence and communicating. 

So here’s some more exclamation points!!!! This sounds like a great event!!! First, I’ve been invited to share my thoughts = talking = something I love to do. Second I’m very excited about this topic and hearing just how it will unfold with such an interesting panel of creative women. We’ll be talking about the digital age and "keeping it real". You KNOW I have a lot of thoughts on this topic.

So if you’re in L.A., Venice to be exact, come by {exclamation point}

Yup, it’s approaching that time of year, my favorite time of year and one of my favorite creations of the year ~ holiday cards! You may or may not know the story ~ oh, fine I’ll tell it again :) 

Holiday cards are especially meaningful to me ~ as years ago, way before Creative Thursday was even a thought, I always made my own holiday cards that I sent to friends and family. A few times I even hand drew and colored each card. At that time in my life, it was the one time of year that I was able to be creative just for me. You see even before there was a day set aside for creativity, there was a time of year set aside for creativity. When you’re sorting all this out, the "what do I want to do with my life?" kind of sorting, you may only have time for creativity once a year.  Hey, you squeeze it in where you can sometimes.

Holiday cards were also one of the first creations I actually sold through Creative Thursday. Designing these cards every season brings me right back to why I started this business to begin with ~ my love and let’s be honest need for creating in my life.  And as I’m endlessly telling my students now, it is this very question/sentiment that is worth coming back to often ~ why are you wanting to be in business for yourself and if you are already in business for yourself, why did you begin the business you are in? Finding the answer to these questions is what will keep you grounded on the days when you feel you’ve lost your way.

For this year’s cards I challenged myself with a new form of creating in one of the cards. The "holiday cheer" design is a combination of painted paper, cut paper, and illustration all combined to form one design. I also felt like mixing up the traditional holiday colors with a little something different. And the green painted paper tree is carried out in the theme of both designs.  I hope you enjoy them! You can now find both designs over at the shop.

It was a beautiful show, filled with beautiful people and the mannequins ~ beautiful too. 

"that doesn’t quite cover it, but then, perhaps endless sentences would never quite cover it all..."

I’m borrowing this quote from Liz sent in an email earlier today. Because there are no words today that feel right. And part of that is simply the fact that once on the other side of a show, you realize how much you summoned to get there, aka all "tapped out" at the moment. And the other part of it is simply what Liz was able to say better than me today. Rather than describe this event, I will leave you with some photos, of which I took few ~but I did take video and as I mentioned before I plan to put a little movie together from beginning to the end of "The creating of Sophia". You’ll see more of  Sophia later, but for now I thought I’d let you see if you can spot her as well as match some of the other artists with their mannequins When I first arrived all I wanted to do was see if I could figure out who created whom.

The best part for me, a weekend spent with my friends, those who participated in the show and those who came out in support of it. I left loving everyone more than when I arrived.

If you would like to challenge yourself as an artist? Paint a mannequin, or really a dress form. All I can say is "Whew"~ this was an interesting creative pursuit, but also one that was well worth the challenge {I think}.

And right about now you may be wondering, "why exactly, is she painting a mannequin?" 

Well, another super EXCITING event that’s happening this week. We’re having a one night art show this Saturday, November 7,  featuring all mannequins, each painted by a different woman artist from across the country. More details to follow!

Until then here’s a sneak peek of the lady I painted and her name is Sophia. I will definitely be sharing more about this experience, as I also filmed the entire creating of Sophia. And my plan is to be making a short film of the process. 

Hope you had a great weekend, a fun halloween and a good week so far? Yes?! 

I took a good day or so to myself, visited with friends, saw a wonderfully inspiring film, and now I’m back, preparing for all the fun to be had this week!!