Blue green blurbs and swirls of positive vibrations cover the first layer of my painting while I repeat a mantra to infuse uplifting energy into my work. This painting started with faltering feelings of drowning in self-doubt, questioning my words. I am supposed to be positive to attract what I desire but the boxing match between my 300 lb. bodybuilder negative thoughts and my light as air positive ones continue. The positive stands up, ready to make a move, and bam, a punch knocks the air out of me. How can I continue? How can I do this alone?

We are never alone. The collective wisdom speaks: “… Rest in us, we are always with you. Be together with us… We want to lift you up and we will when the time is right. Keep on painting…. Inhale all that you are experiencing now. You strive and strain to be on top when you need to be inside. We want you to take your time, be inside, be content with your art…”

The negative cried out again, “This is crap and it’s not good enough…” But slowly that part of me fell down, down, down a swirling tunnel as she kept voicing her complaints and bashing my art. She fell further and further away until I could not hear her anymore. She was gone, swallowed up by the hole of the Spirit. Then the little girl, who was battered, bloody, and eye sockets bled, stepped forward. I could barely look at her but she was a part of me. She was the one who left. A warm, wet wash cloth appeared in my adult hand as I softly wiped her face, scared but confident as I cleaned out the eye sockets. I replaced them and continued to clean her. Soon enough, she walked out of the deathly skin and began to shine. She was cleaned, smiling, bright and happy. New clothes, pretty hair, brand new shoes, she was whole again. All blessed and loved by me. She is with me now. She is with me always. She is my wisdom and she holds the deep well that will be filled with love, the true, sanctified, solid, unyielding love… My wisdom will carry this unfettered, unwavering love. She carries it for me wherever we go.

I bring good vibrations into my soul and psyche.

What is Source? Some of us call it God, some call it the Universe or the Collective Wisdom. Whatever name we use, it is all that is true and good. It knows what is best for us. It guides us in the correct direction and helps us make the best decisions. It also helps us face the truth, our perfect truth, and make adjustments in our behaviors and our actions. It helps us obtain what is best. It keeps us on track and in the flow of all that brings us health and peace.

But what if we are disconnected and off track? What if we feel stagnant or are hindered by something or discouragements appear? How can we realign ourselves with our Source?

I felt a gentle tug, a pulling of some sort that wanted me to trust. It wanted me to give up my striving, to give up my worry, to give up my confusion. Amongst all the advice and council from this or that, how can I connect to the one true Source that can guide me through life with ease and comfort? I don’t believe we are supposed to be uncomfortable. I don’t believe that life should be a chore. I believe we should be guided through life fully connected, fully in tune with our Inner Source of all that is good, correct, and perfect for our selves. It’s uncomfortable for others when we follow our Source. Plus, things get rocky for us when we follow their advice. But we tell others our stories, our concerns, our dilemmas, and they offer their suggestions. We listen. We turn all possible options around in our heads, hoping to find the right solution. But they can never truly help us more than our Inner Wisdom. They can never really know what’s best for us. To surround ourselves with our Source, we must first stop asking others for help.

So how do we do all this? Create a painting, a visual that will help you connect.

I started this painting because I was affected by outside energy and I wanted to reconnect to my Source. I painted the center column in yellow, pink, and metallic gold. The edges were painted in metallic white as a protection and shell to keep what is not right for me from penetrating my core. The colors on either side are the outside world. The bubbles represent all the words I hear from friends, family, news reports, emails and internet articles. Source energy needs to engulf all the advice, all the words I hear from outside sources and squeeze them until they pop and dissipate. It is then, when the outside words are no longer inside of my mind, can I hear my true Source speaking. When I hear my Source, life becomes what I intended it to be from the beginning.

We may find some relief when confiding in others. Most often, it’s because we feel understood. When we talk with others it’s because we seek someone we can relate to, someone with whom we can commiserate with, someone whom tells us what we feel is valid. But eventually, we realize that all others can do is operate from their own circle of truth, and that may end up being far from our own. Once we understand that something beyond this physical world knows everything about us and that it knows everything we are capable of, we can point our minds to the omniscient spirit and connect to it on a spiritual level.

What better way to connect than with painting! If you wish to create a painting that will help you connect to your True Source, contact me and ask for the “Connecting to Source” instructions to create your own visual reminder. No matter what level of experience you have, you can begin your painting routine today. Looking forward to hearing from you at grace.designart@gmail.com.

With a brush in hand and colors in our palette, we won’t want anything else to hold. That glass of alcohol won’t quench our thirst, that charge card we hand over to the store clerk won’t deliver, and that bag of potato chips or plate of cookies won’t fill us up. Holding a paintbrush takes over our old addictions and becomes our place of rest, where peace fills our soul and our inner wisdom speaks. If you have tried to remove an unwanted addiction with little success, painting will help. To receive this instruction, sign up for my blog subscription and a pdf will be emailed to you.

No Place Feels Like Home, 14.5" x 11"

While waking up Monday morning, I wanted to explore my being unsettled in my home. It’s been a year since my last move and I am still uncomfortable. Maybe a lack of good organization is affecting me. Maybe it’s because this is my 18th residence. Painting could help. With thinned out cerulean blue, I painted eighteen ovals; each one representing a residence; the longest was nine years, the shortest was six weeks. Raw umber and Dioxazine purple were also added for darker areas. In Sylvia’s class, she had us consider value. She suggested we cluster light colors together; squinting to see where these values connect. She encouraged me to make some of the ovals blend with the darker background so they were not all the same value. Being in a class with eighteen other women, I wrote very little about this painting. It did guide me to further organize my kitchen. But I want to feel settled inside no matter where I am.

Do you feel unsettled in any way? Explore your feelings in an abstract painting.

Exercise:
1. Write about what is making you feel unsettled for about ten minutes.
2. Select three colors, whatever colors first come to mind.
3. Thin one color with a lot of water for your lightest value.
4. Paint a shape or shapes to represent the area that unsettles you.
5. Add a darker value, thinned with less water, around the light color, merging edges.
6. As you paint, consider what small thing you can do to feel more settled.
7. Set aside one hour of your day to do what your inner wisdom guided you to do.

Are you wondering what to give that special someone this holiday season? An art workshop makes the perfect gift. Here are the details:

Awaken Your Artist Within workshop
Bring painting back into your life for creative expression and therapeutic benefits.
Discover a tremendous sense of personal transformation and healing by expressing feelings, thoughts, and ideas with an interchange of abstract painting and free writing. Express yourself, mend relationships, and find a new direction with a gentle technique that helps you tap into the human psyche where true inner wisdom lies. All levels of experience are welcome. Bring notebook and pen. Ages 18+

Location: CCAA Museum of Art
Joseph Filippi Winery, 12467 Baseline Road, Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91739
Date: 1/19/2012, 2-4 pm

To register, click here!

See Video: http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=GraceDesignArt#p/u/3/T1-42Qbckrs

This painting began with azure blue counter-clockwise circles representing the pure spirit in the mother’s womb. Before birth, your nature was affected by outside behavior and words. Energy vibrates up your body like waves or a piston pushing good energy up and pulling bad energy out. Comfort yourself through your paintings. You are healing. Through your writing, you are restored. Find yourself again.

A remnant of weeds are left after weeks of digging. The 25′ x 7′ block of what used to be grass is full of thick, twisted shoots, some reaching 18″ into the ground. At first, I fought with this chore. Then, I remembered saying, “I’d rather be tilling the land” when I first struggled learning Photoshop while meeting deadlines. Now that I’m weeding, nature has its way of teaching. Battling the weeds gave me a visual to explain childhood wounds. Well, it’s still in my mind. I need to draw it then describe the lesson. It’s a perfect illustration to be added to my upcoming book. Love nature’s guidance.

11/11/11  11 am

Sitting before a white sheet of paper on a pivotal day, metallic emerald and metallic ruby came to mind. My ear flutters inside my ear drum as I look through my jewelry supplies to find green and pink crystals to make a ring to match my painting. Video of my process is here: http://www.youtube.com/user/GraceDesignArt

Ruby symbolizes passion for life. The ignited soul is the empowered soul. Life was created because of passion. The burning ember is spreading. It is freeing. It will burn then heal. Passion for life will drive wealth and wealth brings healing. Wealth in your emotions, in your soul, in your mind, in your health, in your vision, in your wisdom, in your circle, in your body. Wealth brings health.

Green symbolizes comfort. Not the falling-back-into-what-I-know comfort. But the comfort that comes when your spirit is alive. You knew before you were born what you will accomplish. Comfort arises and sets upon you when you move towards your vision a little step each day, in that direction you set when you were spirit. Remember your mission? Do you see it glimmering? Does it trigger a new direction? You will know true comfort when the butterfly transformations stir within your core.

Upon entering the eighty degree greenhouse of the Butterfly Conservatory in Niagara Falls, Ontario, hundreds of wings whisked by our faces. Their endless movements challenged me to chase them down, snapping my camera to record their colorful marks. Nature transformed brown furry shells into striking color patterns. It’s the species I most relate to because of their flitting motion and metamorphosis. Which species do you relate to and why?

Guardian Angel displayed at CCAA Museum of Art

Yesterday, over 150 guests gathered at the reception to see the artwork and hear how Daniel Foster selected the Best of Show, along with 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners. Mr. Foster, former director of the Riverside Art Museum, talked about composition, technical skill, and that an artist could excel at both of these qualities, but if the art lacked meaning, or had little feeling, the art would be missing the extra something needed to make it stand out. My painting, Guardian Angel, represents a tough time in life when a guardian angel came along to help. It could be a spiritual angel and most often, it is another human being that extends out a hand to pick you up. Those special people willing to stand along side of you, no matter what, are true angels and my painting acknowledges them.

The show continues until Nov. 20 and if you are in Rancho Cucamonga, stop by to visit this exhibit that displays a wide assortment of art. http://www.ccaamuseum.org