Explore - A Challenge to You

Surely there is grandeur in knowing that in the realm of thought, at least, you are without a chain; that you have the right to explore all heights and depth; that there are no walls nor fences, nor prohibited places, nor sacred corners in all the vast expanse of thought...
~Robert Green Ingersoll




It has been a very busy few weeks and I apologize for needing to step away from my blog for a few days. I was preparing pieces for an Art and Coffee event (click to see pics) put on by a wonderful organization here in Dallas called ArtLoveMagic . I'm thrilled that I was chosen to be one of the artists in their Girl Show "The Perfect 10" later this summer.

One of the great things about being pushed to put out a large amount of work is I get so bored doing the same thing that I start reaching for new idea. One night last week I was chatting with a friend and showing her the first basecoat of background on a few canvasses and she ordered that I could not put a butterfly, a bird, or anything of the sort on these. So I'm pushing.. trying something new.. for the sake of experimenting, developing my skills, discovering new things. (Sometimes that can be a really hard thing to do when you are living off your art, and really want to make your work sellable.)




This week I invite you to try something new as well (a new style of writing, a new subject for your painting, perhaps a new way to solve a problem) and post it here... either through description, a link to a blog or picture, or whatever your heart desires! Here's a couple things I learned from my journey last week.. or perhaps even my lifetime of trying things...



1. It begins with the thought. And sometimes that is scary enough that most people stop here. Don't just jump in, or you probably won't get very far. You know how they say do that idea board and put every idea on it -- even the ridiculous ones? There's a reason for that. Not so the idea can actually be on the board, but so your mind can remain free, your mind can play with clay of ideas up there and start molding and blending together and pulling apart. Something will come.

2. When you take steps outward into something new, no worries. You bring your experiences and base knowledge with you. Trust the divine that the time for you to unpack that knowledge will be revealed to you.. it will. And be open to doing something really different with it. Here's an example... one of the last things I do in a painting is to often put horizontal and vertical lines in the negative spaces.. a cross hatching to add depth. See what I'm talking about by clicking here. But this time, the lines just didn't seem appropriate... which is when I worked with lines of bubbles. And I love the way it turned out! It made the scene come to life!

3. Don't worry about what you're going to do with what you've done ... the time for that will be revealed as well. I was really happy to sell two of my painting explorations a few weeks ago -- paintings that I had created over a year ago. I feel like I've developed so much since then but there is something so spot on about what those pieces.. they were discoveries for me and they will be discoveries for their new owners. Right now, I don't know who is going to hang up a pink and purple and mustard and jade octopus painting, haha, but the time for that will be revealed as well.


So get busy... this isn't just for artists... it can be for any challenge in your life needing a creative solution. Document your journey, or even just the start of your journey here, and see what happens. Oh, and did I say that I'll be giving out a mini octopus painting randomly to someone who responds? Yup! I'll give you a month.. July 6th I'll announce the winner!

Now start breaking down some walls..

This painting is currently available for purchase in the Sacred Arts Studio on Etsy for $75.