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This week video is one of those that brought struggle I could not find a fix for. I’m usually pretty good at pushing through when in my creative process I find myself in this place of «what to do next ?». I am immensely thankful for artist I learned from, in person or online, like Jesse Reno, Flora Bowley and Mindy Lacefield. They all taught me valuable lessons that changed everything.

I think this video will always remind me of the power of Connection. Connection with each other. Connection with our environment. Connection to the Source.

While I was filming, I stopped and snapped a picture to post on Instagram. And I felt the tingle to iMessage with Lynda to ask for her opinion. We’ve been classmates in several of  Mindy’s classes for quite some time now, we were supposed to meet and be roommates in June but Life decided other way, and even if our style and paths are different, I know this is a good thing because she has a pair of eyes that would see things differently than mine.
She was very helpful and gently pushed me in the direction I was afraid to take in this painting. I work very intuitively, never knowing what my next step will be, just going with the flow. But once I meet that wall of Fear, it takes a lot to get rid of it. I am so happy I listened to her advices as it allowed me to do the right choices.

As a starting point, I asked my Mom to pick one canvas and three colors for me to start with. She chose a square masonite type gessoboard, and the colors yellow+blue+green.

This Sprixie and her Universe came to me easily. But I was too bold with the leaves I stenciled, they were eating everything around. Lynda suggested me to cover the entire background with a white glaze. ICK. Made nodes in my stomach just to thought of it. What if I would lose all my pretty layers ? I chose to go for it, but to diminish the failure possibilities I used Zinc white instead of Titanium one (Titanium white is opaque, Zinc white isn’t).
It worked like magic, toned it done and even brought it all together for a more cohesive feel. Could not resist the alcohol ink drops, though.

This left horn was the starting point of seeing this Sprixie emerge. If you look closely, it was that piece of scrapbook paper that I glued at the very beginning of the process.

«I feel it all» is the title of a song by Feist that I really like. This Sprixie is a Spirit of the Forest, and she holds it close in her when everything seems to be falling apart. It has nothing to do with the actual lyrics of the song but it came to me, so I accepted it.

Enjoy:

Here are the supplies I used for this painting:

Gelli Plate 8×10 Brayer Deli Paper Chevron Arrows 12×12 Catalyst Blade #6 Liquitex Matte Gel Blick Matte Acrylics Golden Fluid Acrylic Catalyst Blade 04 Golden Heavy Body acrylic paint Stabilo All pencil Black Deco Doily stencil Danny Zuko’s Denim Bubblegum Pink Dylusions Spray Boysenberry-Silk Glaze Bolivian Blue-Silk Glaze Moonbeams-Silk Glaze

Yaay !

I added two more new original paintings in the shop. If you follow Inner Voices on Facebook, you have already seen them around this week or so.

«Already Within»

«Already Within» was created on a 6×8″ cradled wood panel. This is a very textured painting, and if you become her new owner I highly encourage you to run your fingers on the surface to also appreciate her by touch.

This Nixie embodies the power of introspection.
She knows in her bones and in her heart that she already holds the answers. That she already has the stregnth to move forward, to move pass the obstacles, that she is way greater than she thinks.

«Ameenah»

«Ameenah» is slightly bigger in size, she was also created on a cradled wood panel, 8×10″.

She is very strong too. After living years in regrets, and then in putting every single drop of hope in tomorrow, she realized this patterns needed to stop because none was making her happy, fulfilled. When she wondered how come, to find a solution, it occurred to her that the answer was oh so simple: the only moment that matters is Now (you can hold the positive experiences close in your heart. you can dream as big or as little about tomorrow than you want, it does bring joy; however, you need to focus on what you can do now, what you need on that precise moment to find your long lasting happiness).

Hi guys !

I am taking a few minutes from watching my daughters play outside with the other kids on that wonderful last day of Spring Break to let you know I’ve added a bunch of new original Nixies in the shop.

I wish it would get easier for me to list them, I am always so afraid of not pricing them right. But I go with my gut and I hope this is right.

I love them all, but I create them not only for me, but to inspire people as well. I hope you’ll like their stories, and will relate to their stories (you can read them on their page in the shop).

Here they are:

«Breathe» is created on a 6×8” cradled wood panel.

She is all about taking the time to introspect and to remember this simple automatic thing we all do without even thinking about it: breathing.

Breathing to center herself, to ground her in the Present moment and what it has to offer, to slow down on the craziness everyday life is.

Letting everything flow, not being

This painting can be purchased here (and you’ll have more info about it as well): Breathe.

Prints will also be available.

All the following Nixies have been created on 8×10” (±20x25cm) canvas board. They are all currently for sale at $69+shipping.

Kowana is the caregiver.

She teaches you to take care of yourself.

She is very tender, very kind. There definitely is something about her that makes me want a hug.

Asha was my first brown skin Nixie, and I guess this is partly why I cherish her so much, still now.

She is from where it’s warm all year long. She is what they call a priestess. She knows her way with Nature, with animal and everything that is living. She hears them whisper to her.

She is the healer.

This painting, as the others, is meant to be discovered with your fingers running on it, not only with your eyes.

Bethanny is the sweetness behind the strength. She is an hidden softy.

She’s the one you can rely on to find solutions.

Hope is the light in the darkest moments.

She makes conscious choices about how she wants to feel on a constant basis, and her happiness is contagious.

Each Nixie has more info in the shop, I hope you like them

I love new products. It can be pretty bad for my bank account, because it is often (really) hard to resist buying new art supply to play with, discover and maybe adore.

Background building is maybe the part I usually prefer in the creative process. Because I don’t know where I am going when I start, I just grab what is calling me, what I feel like using on that specific moment. And see where I am told to go. Listening to the Inner Voice(s) and letting myself be guided. This is when I feel the most connected to the Source.

Trust is essential. Add a sprinkle of faith. A dollop of courage. And you got my recipe for a good painting (when I say «good» I mean «one that leaves me satisfied»).

For 2013, my guiding word(s) are TRY {Be Daring}. I even started to put them into action in December. I want to be less shy. I want to do all I can to be discovered. This is how I ended up talking with Jaime from the amazing brand The Crafter’s Workshop and received stencils and dies to try, play and make a project she could use in their booth during CHA in Anaheim »(if you are not familiar with it, CHA *Craft and Hobby Association* is a huge trade show that happens twice a year; it is when the craft and scrapbooking brands share their new lines and products, and stores can order them).

The dies I received are some words, some beautiful ones that could become part of a background, and most of them are really nice for your Project Life album. I wanted to find a way to feature both the dies and the stencils, and came up with the idea to make a hardbook. I had little time to make it on time so Jaime could get it for the show (thank you Deanna from Clipper Street, my local scrapbook store, for taking care of the delivery for me !).

What I love is the versatility of stencils in general, and the ones I got had good space to be used with gel medium or any heavy medium so I could play with textures as well.

There dies are simply amazing and you can use (for lots of them) both the negative and posititive (you can see I’ve played with that on the spread with the arrow). You’ll see more of them in my Project Life pages for sure. The size is perfect, neither too big nor too small so it does not outshine your picture and you can still clearly see it on there.

Just an important note: these are «snapped in the moment. in progress» pictures of my project. I don’t have pics of the finished one yet.
Click on the thumbnail to enlarge.

I would love to know if you’ve seen it in person if you were attending CHA somehow. Let me know.

Thanks again a lot Jaime for the opportunity. Learned a lot along the way.

Here are the pics:

Items I have been playing with:

Stencils: Confetti, Honeycomb, Cell Theory, Quatrafoil.
Dies: Solace, Circles, Mini Dots, Blank 4×6, Blank 3×4, Horizontal Chevrons, Chicken Wire, Top Five, Arrow Here, Everyday, Today Is, Right Now, This Week, Love this, Today, Now, Hello, Sweet.

I am so happy to announce that you can now choose to have your favorite artwork from me in different sizes.

The usual one: I go from 8×10 (as soon as my current stock is gone) to 8.5×11″. It will be what I call the regular print size.

The downsized one: I can print your choice of artwork on the same beautiful paper* but in a 4×6″ format. Easy to hang on your wall, it is also the standard photo size so it is easy to find a frame for it if you want. (Click the image above to see it in the shop).

The oversized one: I can print your choice of artwork on the same beautiful paper but in the bigger 11×14″ size. As well as the other two formats, it is easy to find beautiful frames to go with the print if you want. (Click the image above to see it in the shop).

* I print on satin paper, which is midway between glossy and matte. It is a heavy 80lb paper.

By default, I print with a white border around the image for easier framing. However, if you want it to cover all the sheet of paper, simply tell me so when purchasing.

Just tell me the name of the artwork you would like in the «Note to Seller» when being at checkout in Etsy. You can find the listing for either the 4×6 or the 11×14″ in my «Special size Prints» section in the shop.