Doing Cool Sh*t Planning

Doing Cool Sh*t Planning

by | Artful Living

“Why fit in when you’re born to stand out?”
~ Dr. Seuss

I think the world is becoming more accepting of this philosophy. In an age of massive change, it’s leading the way for many to break away from how things have been done in the past, to create a better future for us all.

Behind the scenes today, my painter’s wall has become a storyboard for expansion – for gathering my thoughts and brainstorming ideas. A seed was planted in my heart several months ago and now I feel ready to explore it.

What I stand for in the world, from who I am to what my art means and its intended impacted in the world is growing, and I am excited to dive into playing in this new field of possibilities.

Your good thoughts and wishes in this endeavour are most welcome and appreciated!!

Kiernan xo

This is an awesome read to inspire the mind, think outside the box, and excite passion and purpose!

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed…

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed…

by | Artful Living

That’s what I’m telling myself today. Just regroup and keep moving on.

Artists have to deal with rejection and disappointment all the time, it’s a fact. To learn to have thick skin while keeping the heart open and not take things personally is a skill to be learned right out of the gate.

So yes, last evening I received some disappointing news about something I had hoped would move me up a notch in the art world. While I choose to believe another door will open and all good things are coming to pass, I still feel the sting of disappointment.

That’s okay, I am learning. It does indeed make us stronger.

“We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.”
~ Martin Luther King, Jr.

Today isn’t any other day…

Today isn’t any other day…

by | Artful Living, Contemporary Art

“It is the addition of strangeness to beauty that constitutes the romantic character of art.”
~ Walter Pater

It’s been a while since I’ve painted some smaller works, so I decided to do a series with flowers as my inspiration, as I am wildly passionate about them and have been itching to give it a go all summer.

I prepped four panels and then painted on a base colour to start off the backgrounds. I was just following what the brush seemed to want to do – not thinking.

But, when I wanted to get the flowers started my muse seemed to abandon me. I couldn’t feel it. I drew a blank in body, palette knife, and mind.

I studied the panels… and I studied the panels. Nothing. It wasn’t happening.

So, I had to regroup and feel into it.

I looked at the patterns in the base and let them guide the process. What happened next was extraordinary.

Following the path of ease, flow and excitement my palette knife took over and led the way.

 

“Today isn’t any other day, you know.”
~ Lewis Carroll

It wasn’t just that the piece painted itself… it energized me! Well, actually three pieces back to back – energized me!

I had mouth surgery last week and have been in recuperation mode mostly. Bursts of energy but short lived. Mostly, I’ve felt lazy and tired.

But these energizing pieces brought me back to life – it felt incredibly healing actually and lifted my sagging spirits!

If I had to say why, I’d say it was because I gave over to playfulness and ease.

“Artists of all stripe tend to equate difficulty with virtue and ease with slumming. We do not lean into our ease and enjoy the ride of our gift… If we do not practice the joy of using our talents where they fall easily, we rob ourselves of self-expression.”

~ Julie Cameron

I can wholeheartedly say, YES to this!

There are times when I paint tuning into the emotion and energy boiling deep inside. It’s a cathartic release.

And, there are times to paint from playfulness, and to just say, “Hi, Art!”

Kiernan

Going From Here to There

Going From Here to There

by | Artful Living, Contemporary Art

“No man is an island, and our creative unfolding occurs within a distinct cultural landscape. Cultural mythology permeates our thinking about art and artists. Art is tonic and medicinal for us all. As an artist you are a cultural healer.” ~ Julia Cameron

My mind has been going in so many directions at once, from here to there, circling and spiraling. I have a vision, but selecting the pieces and putting them together is fleeting at times.

So many distractions of late… forcing down time for contemplation. Trips, renovations, caring for aging parents are all on the landscape at the moment.

Within it all I feel… clarity on the edge coming closer… taking risks.

What I know is that in creative expression… in painting… in writing (a love that is begging for more attention) I am healthy, happy and whole, in a way that nothing else can compare.

From there…                                                                                  to here…

Creativity is a Spiritual Practice

Art Transforms Worlds within Worlds

Art Transforms Worlds within Worlds

by | Artful Living, Contemporary Art

Painting is not always about creating something of beauty. Sometimes it’s about an artist pouring something unknown onto the canvas. This unknown may be a feeling that is unable to be articulated any other way than through colour or the act of creating something with our hands. Sometimes it’s a calling from an inward and/or an outward source.

A pull. A calling. An irrepressable urge.

It could be in response to something the artist is experiencing. It could be an attempt to understand or convey something bigger.

Imagine for a moment, that in the act of creation – something is transformed in this unknown kaleidoscope. This is the power of art… it transforms from within and without… it brings something into the world that carries an energy that heals and affects us on a cellular level.

Imagine for a moment that it takes the whole of a life and repatterns it, makes sense of it and integrates a wholeness that might not otherwise be experienced. And, what if in that one transformation it sends feelers or waves of energy out into the world – to touch the hearts of others.

Art informs. Art heals. Art transforms…the one who is creating it and the ones who reflect upon it.

This recent piece ‘Intimate Knowing of the Soul’ is a painting that called from the depths of someplace within my soul. I would also say that it was called forth from some other place.

I had many a conversation with Rumi, with my childhood and what brought this person to experience the mystical force of Egypt. Retracing my steps through a pilgrimage in South Africa… to today as an artist with messages of hope, love and the reverence of the power of the unseen and the unknown.

Intimate Knowing of the Soul went through a great deal of transformation with many many layers. It looks intense, deep and chaotic. But, it is a weaving together of lives and energy. It is an integration of wholeness.

It is also the promise of exciting new things to come, because as we weave together the past and the future into the NOW, we expand, grow stronger, and we are able to hold so much more of life in our hands, our hearts, our minds and bodies.

As this painting came to completion this message or mantra has descended (or ascended) into my thoughts and awareness…

TO LOVE NOT HATE…whatever is appearing before us, drop into our heart and be love.