My Year In Paint 2016 | Part One

Published on December 12, 2016

All this week I’ll be strolling down memory lane by revisiting the paintings I worked on throughout the year. The funny thing is that I actually felt like I did barely any painting this year at all (what was I thinking?!?). But putting this series together has helped me realize the opposite and it’s been exciting to see how my body of work has naturally unfolded.

I hope that you enjoy this reflection as well and that it encourages you to review your 2016 by the art work you created. I bet you’ll be surprised by what nuggets of wisdom and a-ha moments you’ll find buried in the progression of your marks, subject matter, and approach.

Now onto part one of My Year In Paint.

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JANUARY 2016

In January of 2016 I rented my dear friend Chris Zydel’s studio in Oakland, California so I could go on lock down with an abundance of paint supplies and absolutely no distractions — except for the occasional tea run and delicious meals with Chris and her husband! This was a little birthday gift I gave myself for turning 40 on December 28th! I also wrote about my experience HERE, HERE, and HERE.

What’s interesting the most in reflecting back on January is how at that time I came to the realization that I don’t want to be a “full time painter”. Here I am, a year later, and my mood has shifted drastically. As 2017 peeks around the corner all my heart longs to do is include more painting in the year ahead.

So in regards to calling myself a full time painter? Yeah. Bring it on 2017! I’m ready!

Isn’t it a trip how finicky our creative process can be. What might be true as the sky is blue one day can hold no weight another.

I love that about being an artist. And, as I mature (ahem), I notice that the winds of change sweep in more than my Capricorn constitution would sometimes prefer, but I’m beginning to understand its blustery nature more and more and learning to trust its wildish ways.

Shortly after I came home from my solo-retreat Hansel, Phoenix, and I spent some time in the snow of Sedona, Arizona. On the drive up I played in my sketchbook and when I came home I started another FEARLESS® Painting of a woman with her head above the water. She has patiently hung in the corner of my studio all year. Untouched. Simply watching. And now, in December she has finally decided to talk, or maybe I’m finally listening. And she has my full attention.

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FEBRUARY 2016

February slid in sweetly, but with a tang of inner conflict for me. So I turned to the brush as I tend to do and I painted BIG. I poured what was inside me out onto the paper. I looked at what I thought I wanted and then I let it sit…I let it sink….I let it transform and guide me..

Then while February was still young, I got on a plane and headed to Harstine Island, Washington for a cozy retreat with my friends Jen and Rachelle. Washington has a special way of putting a patina on the parts of my heart that are covered in rust. The grittiness of the land, the prussian blue of the water, the moistness of the air — but most of all the magic that resides in the hearts of my two wise friends.

While I was there I collaborated with the Earth and painted in my art journal. Both felt sacred. Both felt fresh.

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MARCH 2016

March is like Heaven here in the desert! The weather is perfect and the sunshine becomes a thin layer of goldleaf on your skin. So needless to say there was ALOT of time spent hiking and kayaking with my beloveds and my favorite kayak that I affectionally call Sedna. What I love is how the beautiful landscape made it’s way into my painting — especially the large painting that I started in the beginning of February as well as the art work I was creating for my 21 SECRETS workshop: MOODY.

March is also the time when I filmed and finalized my 21 SECRETS workshop MOODY. A lot of my inspiration came from immersing myself in the Arizona landscape. My MOODY workshop was also the fuel behind my POETIC workshop I hosted in West Palm Beach in May –that I’ll be sharing more about tomorrow!

To see more from my MOODY workshop you’ll just have to take it! CLICK HERE to sign up for 21 SECRETS Tools & Techniques where MOODY resides!

Last, in March I really started to experience heightened anxiety due to the election circus that was starting to boil in America. I didn’t quite know how to process through the growing stress of witnessing so much hate, violence, and racism surface (and honestly I still am struggling with it) — except to pick up my brush. So I started a series of smaller paintings that I’m still working on from time to time.