Love Letters to Creative Souls

Hello All,

I am here to herald in the Summer. Let’s begin with some of our Favorite Things….I am hoping that we may paint in the warmth and sun that we are all yearning for. Yes, I love the greens and the lush rain forest in which we live in, but about now, I am craving a bit of warmth. How about you?

This is the time of year I like to fling open the studio doors, pull my working tables and easels outside and work “plein air”. There is something about having the grass beneath my feet when I am working. It gives me that connection to the earth and solidness underneath me. Not to mention being able to breathe in fresh air and all the scents from the garden. I love the scent of honeysuckle, peony and mock orange that wafts through the air right now. I think that is one of my Favorite Things about early Summer...or any season actually---I love the scents.

In a few weeks, I will have the opportunity to paint at MusicFest again this year. There, I get to combine two more of My Favorite Things (remind you of something?) listening to music AND creating outside…only this is extra special because it is live music. If you are one of the lucky ones who have a ticket (I hear they have sold out already), come and find me. I will probably be dancing and holding three paint brushes in one hand while I create… and loving it the whole time. So what are some of your Favorite Things?

Of course, creating art is a very Favorite activity of mine. Putting my art out there to the world has not always been easy for me. I have noticed the more I do it, there is less Resistance. However, submitting to the Sooke Fine Art show brought me face to face with that nasty Dragon of Resistance. I was about to bail and not bother finishing my application, when I asked my lovely husband what he thought. Without missing a beat, he looked at me and responded, “RESISTANCE”. As Steven Pressfield says, in his book Do the Work, “You need balls of steel to ship”. I love that line…no pussy footing around at this point. So I finished up the submission and pressed “send”. Once you do that, you really have to let it go!

I was grateful (and a bit nervous) to discover that I was accepted into the Sooke Fine Art show with a mixed media piece from the Red Dress Series. This one will be hard to part with as I really love it-- "Taking Flight" . And, just so you know, two other pieces were not accepted. Why am I telling you this? So you know the Moral of the Story: it is a jury. The jury is different every year. A jury is subjective—which means they pick what THEY like. I have always hated the jury thing just on principle. So if you did not get accepted, and I know a very fine artist friend of mine who was not accepted one year (yes, you know who you are), keep on trying. She is the one that told me, “don’t get put off if they don’t accept you THIS year. There is always next year.” Because she has been accepted other years (this year included) and she does not give up. Rejection is part of the game (ask Steven Pressfield, or you might try reading one of his books). Rejection is NOT one of my Favorite Things. As my dear hubby just pointed out to me, I was Rejected and Accepted. (Thanks Dan). Things to Remember: there is always Another Art Show.

So enough rambling--If any of you are in Victoria from July 26- Aug 5, I hope you will visit the show as there are a number of very fine Comox Valley artists that were accepted and I am honoured to be in the company of-Sandra Lamb, Loretta Busch, Martha Jablonski-Jones, Corre Alice, Henrie Beaudoin, Bev Byerley, and Guillermo Mier—just to name a few I recognize. I hope I haven’t left anyone out! There are also many other artists participating from Vancouver Island and surrounding BC Coastal Islands.

“Reflections: Perspectives on Water” will be another upcoming art show I am participating in with the Westcoast Artist Collective, also with some very creative artists-Kira Neumann, Jennifer Weber, Helen Utsal, Lori Kenney, Martha Jablonski-Jones and Nicole Warrington. This will be at Art Alchemy, in Courtenay, July 26-Aug 22. I will send out an email with more info about that soon!

Definitely on my list of Favorite Things is having you all create here in the Art Room. So, if you are interested in painting in July, drop me a line. The classes fill very quickly so let me know sooner than later.

Keep on Creating!

Kind Regards,

Lisa