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… but here I am, adding some plants to my abstract paintings.
I think I have a lot of resistance to painting flowers. I still don’t paint them, by the way. Some artists do it beautifully, like my friend Mindy Lacefield (who has a great class about it, called Rustic Blooms).

Books for references

In Québec, we are lucky to have the banQ, which is a gigantic free public library. You know now that I am an avid reader, but this is a hobby that can be expensive (think that a book is usually around 25$ and I read one to two a week…).
Here are the first two books I was able to grab at the library and I even added them to my Amazon wishlist so I know where to find them when I’ll be able to purchase them.
They give step by step instructions on a lot of flowers/plants/cacti. The second one even adds the symbolism behind each, which you know I am a sucker for 😉

“Botanical Line Drawing“

“How to draw modern florals“

What about you?

Is there something you swore to yourself you would NEVER paint or create, but finally caved in for some reason? I’d love to know (please, tell me I am not the only one! lol).

I am so happy to share with you that I will be joining the Wild sisterhood for an 8-week class. This will focus on how art practice can deeply help our healing. Find out more here (and I suggest you sign up for the entire shebang so you can access everything Shai is teaching)
The line-up of teachers is fantastic and I feel blessed to be part of it. I know some of them and call them friends. I will also discover the magic of others (that’s something I love about collaborative classes).

Creativity & Mental Health

I am very excited that we will be talking about our mental health in this class. If you’re a regular reader of this space, you know that I mainly create in my art journals to help me with my mental health. No joke when I say that it is the biggest thing keeping me sane (and safe).
The class will feature interviews and more than just art journaling or painting.

Win your spot!

IMPORTANT NOTE: you need to leave me a comment on this blogpost, and then come back to the widget below to click on “I commented” so your entry is validated <3

Welcome to this new Gratitude Friday! Feel free to share with me your (partial or full) gratitude moments in the comments; that way I can hold joy for you ✿ (you know that makes me happy to make you happy).

This week was pretty good overall. I need to accept that my arm/hand/shoulder blade will need a professional to get better (not happy about that) though.

This week, I am thankful for:

• New music! P!nk, Sara Bareilles, Billie Eilish and today Of Monsters and Men came out with new music in the past few weeks and it makes me utterly happy
• A project I am working on
• My BFF is getting her own studio in Paris
• My other BFF moving on the final stages of her PhD
• My husband taking a leap of faith
• Bonding with my daughter Mae through makeup
• Bonding with my daughter Kaly through creativity
• The video of how Meissa came to be finally being out to the world
• My new haircut
• New art supplies thanks to a couple contributions in my Tip Jar

This week’s soundtrack:

With the importance of social media in our lives, some things that were not that big of a deal when I was a teenager now are for my own daughters.
Things like self-portraits that morphed into selfies. Because I need to say it: these are not the same and interchangeable. Nope.

But what’s the difference?

A self-portrait is a representation of yourself, taken by yourself.
A selfie is the same but is meant to be shared publicly. That’s where the difference lies. All selfies are self-portraits, but not all self-portraits will become a selfie.

Self-portraiture as a confidence builder

I have always been obsessed with photography. When I was a teenager (pre-teen, even), I used to take a lot of pictures, of everything and anything.
Then, with my girlfriends, we had fun taking self-portraits of ourselves. It was always thrilling to take them and having to wait for them to be developed to see how they turned out. I actually miss using an argentic camera but that is another story… I cherish these photos not because I think I was prettier then blablabla, but because they remind me of the moment of shared friendship, of the laughter that happened.

As I grew older and my life changed, I now use self-portraits to stop time. I capture who I am at a very precise moment. 
Sometimes, I just feel like “grab you phone, now, don’t stage anything and snap a picture”. Does it happen to you too?).

Self-portraits do not have to show your face. I often capture part of myself, not the wholeness of it.
For example, I have several photos of my collar bone. Why? Because it is one of my most intense trigger point for my fibromyalgia. When it starts to burn, I know it announces the beginning of a flare-up.
I also take photos of the parts of me that need more love. I do it to help me accept my body for what it is.
This practice is one of my go-to healing rituals.

Self-portraiture is a form of art

Self-portraiture is a form of photography.
Intention is very important when I take a self-portrait. I edit them with care, using filters and stuff that will convey the emotion.
Some will be shared publicly but most will stay private. Just for me. And I edit them just the same, whereas they are self-portraits or selfies. Because I do it for me, not for people to see.

When working on something by using self-portraiture, I go several ways…

1. I use my phone. When I do that, I set up a timer, put it on self-portrait mode so I can see myself, and go to town. Then I will play within different apps to apply filters and use a juxtaposition of symbols and texture.
2. I use an instant camera. I have an obsession (yes, one more!) for instant cameras. I have several of them, most from Fujifilm and one is a vintage Polaroid that belonged to my Grand-Father and had the chance to inherit (and it still works even though the photos come out… strange). Using it is trickier than using my phone but so much fun! I had happy accidents with them but would love to learn how to use them better…

⭐️What about you? Are you a selfie addict? What is your go-to ritual to feel better about yourself or to freeze a moment in time?

Oh guys… I have been dying to share with you the creative process behind Meissa.
Meissa is a Nixie created for Katie, aka StarNative. The only demand was to incorporate crystals. You’ll see that even though I love crystals and having them in my artwork: I struggle.
You know I love keeping it real and it’s important for me to share the process as it is: sometimes it flows like a river, and some other times I feel like I am going against its current.

I really took my time with her. I put her in a special space in my ArtCave so I could actually see her every time I was in there.
Some paintings need space.
I am really proud of how she turned out and she stayed with me for a few extra weeks so I could charge her with Reiki and with a shit ton of Love.

Intention

I always start a session by setting my intention for the artwork. I light a candle and retreat within. The use of specific oils is part of my ritual as well.
Nothing is done without a specific purpose.
There is always some music playing, that I pick accordingly to the intention.

Symbols

You might have noticed that some symbols make appearances throughout my artwork.
This is the case with the “three drops/tears”. I have never explained what they actually mean to me (and might never do) but they have an important place in my art.
I also used the clusters of small dashes, checkers (in the stencil for the second layer).
And on her neck, I painted the Zibu symbol for Creativity. You can see a project I made with them right here. I use them often but most of the time, they are hidden more than in plain sight.