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- Painting the Feminine Book
- Paint Wisdom Cards
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Paintings | Mixed-Media on Paper

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I had a huge a-ha moment during my morning paintin

I had a huge a-ha moment during my morning painting practice today. 🤯

It occurred to me that these circles I’ve been joyously painting each morning (today is morning #9 of circles) are all simple abstract color studies. But that’s not the big a-ha.

The big a-ha is that EVERYTIME I am going through some transition in my life & creatively, I paint pure color study abstractions. Every-freaking-time without thinking about it.

A great example is my Painting The Feminine journal that I painted in for 8 straight years. If you go through the pages you’ll see that the majority of my paintings are best described as abstract figurative — they’re abstract in nature, but there’s always faces or figures in them.

Then there willl be maybe three or four pages in a row that have no figures or faces at all. Purely abstract.

Those are the periods where I was going through something — something was shifting in my life & in my practice.

That’s totally where I am now & where I’ve been all year basically. This is what I call Paint Wisdom — because are paintings & especially our unique visual language is always reflecting the subtleties & nuances of our lives right back at us. I love it. 💜💛💜

#paintingcircles #morningpractice #painting #sketchbook

I’m a total morning person. I have been for decade

I get up around 4 AM every single morning & the fi

I get up around 4 AM every single morning & the first thing I do is go into the studio. Most of the time I paint, sometimes I journal, do yoga, or sit on the floor staring at my paintings in a half asleep haze. Today I painted & talked on the phone with one of my best friends, as he sat thousands of miles away in his writing nook doing his version of a morning practice too. As I write this, it’s only 6:15 AM,& already, my day feels perfectly complete.

#morningpractice #watercolor #mixedmediaart

It was a total grey day, no sunshine in sight, & H

It was a total grey day, no sunshine in sight, & Hansel & I were the only ones at the beach for as far as the eye could see.

Right there, where the ocean kisses the shore, were a family of tide pools filled with broken conch shells of all shapes, sizes, textures, and subtle colors. Each one that I picked up felt & looked different. Some of them fit naturally into my palm like we were made for each other. Others had an awkwardness to them, a polite way of asking me to let them be.

I wonder what they must have looked like before the ocean world carved them into little unique beings. I bet they had a symmetry to them that would’ve made them prime souvenir shop merch. I’m glad they escaped that destiny.

To me, it is their broken, weathered appearance that was love at first sight. I feel like their shape holds a a story — their texture proof of one helluva journey.

I couldn’t help myself. I took a few of them home with me. All I want to do is draw & paint them. Maybe they’ll understand how much I admire them & let me in on their secrets of the sea.

#sketchbook #watercolor #mycostaricalife

For as long as I can remember, I feel like I’ve be

For as long as I can remember, I feel like I’ve been carrying this deep longing around when it comes to my art & what I paint. I’m always searching, reaching, yearning for something — some kind of expression I can feel stirring inside me. Some kind of imagery I see in my mind.

In one way, the longing keeps my practice fresh & interesting — it pulls me into trying new things & to experiment. In another way it feels like a trap — like whatever I make never quenches it.

So I’ve decided to start a new body of work all about longing itself. How it feels & what shows up when I allow myself to really feel the longing instead of trying to quench it with another painting. To actually pour my longing into each piece — let the longing itself be my portal in.

What does longing have to show me? To say? What really is longing?

I’ve only just got started but already it feels vulnerable as all hell. It’s taking me into new territory. I’m painting a lot with my bare hands & I’m navigating with putting my feelings first instead of what my mind likes to see on the painting. Wild stuff.

And, if that wasn’t enough! I’m teaching a seven-day workshop called Days of Longing where I’ll guide others on creating a series of paintings around longing too. We start Sept 28th if you feel called to join me. ❤️‍🔥🌀🎨

#daysoflonging #abstractpainting #painting #longing

Painting on the patio with my little blue book & a

Painting on the patio with my little blue book & a cool breeze that feels like blue on my skin.

#painting #visualjournal #mycostaricalife #watercolor #blue

I’ve been feeling the deepest gratitude & the deep

I’ve been feeling the deepest gratitude & the deepest longing all at the same time.

#painting #mixedmediapainting #mycostaricalife

Eclipse energy. #sketchbook #painting #watercolor

Eclipse energy.

#sketchbook #painting #watercolors

Started my morning painting by the Rio Grande Gorg

Started my morning painting by the Rio Grande Gorge. Prussian Blue was made for these mountains.

#taos #pleinairpainting #painting

I’ve been hosting painting retreats every single y

I’ve been hosting painting retreats every single year since 2008…except this past year. I intentionally took a year off of all my traveling & teaching retreats to focus my energy on selling everything we own & moving to Costa Rica.

Now I’m beyond excited to say my break from retreats is officially over 🎉! I’m on the road again. I woke up this morning in a hotel in Albuquerque, NM and first thing I did was paint.

I will be making my way to Taos this afternoon where I’ll be having my own personal solo retreat for a few days before my UNAPOLOGETIC retreat starts Sunday at the Mabel Dodge Luhan House.

UNAPOLOGETIC is a week long retreat focused on creating unconventional self portraits. It’s going to be delicious.

#travelingartist #paintinginhotels #artretreat #painting

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Site by Quinn Tempest. Photo credits: Tammy Novak Photography, Connie Solera, & Hansel Solera.

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