My Year In Paint | Part Four

Today was suppose to be the last day of My Year In Paint series here at Dirty Footprints Studio. (If you are just joining me now, please be sure to check out Part One, Part Two, and Part Three for the whole shebang!)

But I have been painting like a FEARLESS® Painting fool throughout the whole month of December, so I’ve decided to dedicate a whole blog post to it mañana.

That’s right…we’re not done just yet!

Though for now lets dive into October and November, shall we?

OCTOBER 2016

There wasn’t a whole lot going on paint-wise during the month of October.  As I said yesterday, September, October, and November tend to be the Winter season of my creative process.  This is the time of year where I slow down in being outwardly productive . But it’s also the time of year where I receive the most inner downloads of what is to come next in the following year.

So even though I don’t have much “product” to show here, October was a really creative juicy month for me.

BIG TIME!

For instance, October is the month where I decided to take a slight pause from IGNITE next year.  This wasn’t an easy decision for me to make, but my inner guidance wouldn’t let up.  It kept nagging and nagging and nagging. So I had to follow.

October is also the month that I attended the Gather The Women conference in Los Gatos, California.  It was such a moving and enriching event and I look forward to attending again next year.

At Gather The Women I had the opportunity to meet and sit in circle with many diverse women doing great things to enhance the lives of others. Plus, I got to share the experience with Jaimee Melilli who is a current student in my IGNITE Online Intensive and my dear friend Heather Plett as well (she’s one of the contributors in my Creative Circles Guidebook that you can receive for free when you sign up for my Sacred Path Shenanigans Newsletter!)

Plus, on the last day I got to meet and listen to one of my all time favorite authors: Jean Shinoda Bolen.  That was a real treat too.

But between you and I…the best part was visiting the Redwoods.

I flew in a day early specifically so I could spend some time in the Redwood forest. And goodness was it a magical experience. I still haven’t found the words yet to fully describe it. But the experience has certainly helped craft my vision for next year and beyond.

Now here’s another thing that’s just between you and I….I’m the kind of gal that loves to make altars.  I have them all over my studio and home.  Even in my bathroom closet! So, every time I travel I make an altar as well.

Below is a photo of the altar that I made in my room at Gather The Women. It included my redwood painting of course.

And this my friends rounds up for October!

NOVEMBER 2016

November was AWWWWWESOME! Awesome! Awesome! Awesome!

I started the month off by traveling to Nosara, Costa Rica for a week long yoga retreat with my beloved teacher and friend Sukhdev Jackson of the musical duo Aykanna.

My intention for going there was to “brush away some energetic debris” (Kundalini yoga is fabulous for that!) and plant some major seeds for a BIG dream of mine (I did that too!).

What I left with was a huge amount of clarity, deep connections with some amazing women, and a fire in my belly to step into my Truth as an artist BIG TIME! (There’s that phrase again!)

Now I didn’t do any painting while I was there — but my creativity was being nourished and flamed 24/7.  My whole body shakes in joy when I just think of my time at this retreat — it was that delicious.

Here’s a peek.

Once the retreat was over I travelled back to the airport to meet up with Hansel and Phoenix! I know…I am one lucky gal.

We spent the next two weeks in Costa Rica together. First we visited Hansel’s family and then we spent a week back in Nosara by ourselves.

Here’s a few highlights.

I might not have painted with actual paint while I was in Costa Rica.  But like Hansel says, the Earth was my canvas!

While in Costa Rica I painted three mandalas onto the beach. This is a little tradition of mine when visiting Costa Rica — but this time Hansel happened to have a drone that he used to record a couple of them.

The first mandala I created in Montezuma the night of the Super Moon.  The next two were created in Nosara on different days.

We returned back home to Arizona the day before Thanksgiving.  The first thing I did (before emptying my suitcase even) was clean, declutter, and reorganize my studio! I wanted to make clear the area around my beloved painting wall and shift the energy in my studio completely.  Because honestly, I felt a major shift happen to me when I was in Costa Rica.

I was on fire to start FEARLESS® Painting again and I have been ever since!

Here is a glimpse at the one painting I made in November right after we returned.  The fun part is that it’s on canvas.

I have tons and tons of canvases just sitting around in my storage closet and the whole flight back home I could literally hear them calling to me!

I am so excited about the paintings I am working on right now in December and I’m even more excited about what I have in store for Dirty Footprints Studio for 2018 — I can’t wait to share all of it with you tomorrow.  So please stop by.  I’ll be waiting for ya!