Mystical Mondays
Today my spirit summoned me to one of the most mystical places that I know (and ADORE) here in LA… It’s a castle in the hills… (sorry guys, keeping this one a secret as I don’t want my sacred space bombarded, but if you can guess it’s location through the photos then you’ve earned the rite of passage…) and whenever I go there I am always ‘awe-inspired’. It’s like walking into a magical fairyland. The rain that we had yesterday brought out all of the amazing smells too… the wet soil, the wild lavender, jasmine bushes and the pungent smell of the eucalyptus trees really sealed in the pure magic of this spot. I meditate here, sketch the wild things here, and just BE PRESENT. Where is your sacred place? And what kind of inspiration does it bring you? I’d love to hear in the comments!
Here’s to a hauntingly blissful day!
xoxo,
Jen
Whimsical Wednesdays
Wow, is it really time for Thanksgiving?? It feels like we were just celebrating the 31 Days of Halloween!! At the risk of sounding old… dear lawd time is going by soooo fast. Just a reminder to live each and every day to the fullest, and really take the T I M E to celebrate life. Even if it’s only 5 minutes out of your day, celebrate your fabulous self, your health, your family and friends, your gifts and contributions to this world, your own creativity… in whatever form it takes.
On Thanksgiving we give thanks to all of the things that enrich our life and help uplift our spirits, which is absolutely wonderful (and necessary)… but how often do we give thanks to ourselves? Our magnificent bodies, our extraordinary minds, our unique souls… each one different like snowflakes and their intricate designs. So while you’re taking the time to count all of the things in life that matter most, be sure to give thanks to YOU, because without YOU all of those other things would’t exist, for it’s our own energy that draws those blessings too us. Just some food for thought…
And I am thankful for these chipmunks because I mean, seriously…..
Have a blessed and bountiful Thanksgiving everyone!
xoxo,
Jen
Magical Mondays
Finding magic in your daily life helps to keep you inspired and keep those creative juices a flowin. I think it helps to keep a child-like mind in this regard, and really LOOK at all that is happening around you (and not on your phone). It actually makes me a little sad that now a days wherever you go people are all looking down at their devices. Even when they are in the most awe inspiring beautiful places, or with family/friends/lovers at a meal. Come on people, there is more to life than that!! A thought occurred to me the other day that what if humans evolve into these grotesque creatures with big looming eyes and hunched backs with necks that angle downwards in order to accommodate the constant, what I call, ‘phone hunch’. Not a pretty picture.
Let’s take a step back, and for fun (because well, it IS!) find a little piece of magic to be inspired by each and every day. It can be the smallest things like the nose kisses you get from your pets, or the way the smell of your morning coffee awakens your senses before you even take your first sip. To the big things, like being out in nature, traveling to a new city or country you’ve never been too and experiencing a totally different culture. You’ll find that if you do this on a daily basis that as each day passes you’ll feel more and more light, more inspired to create the world that you want to thrive in.
My magical inspiration of the day comes from the forests of Minnesota. When I was there it was so powerful, I just stood in awe of all of the amazing foliage bursting with colors only nature can perfect, and the way the leaves seemed like a delicate golden tiered stairway to the realm where the wood elves would play. Just seeing these pictures brings me right back to that place, that feeling.
As above, so below… so don’t forget to look beneath your feet, as even the forest floor has a tale to tell…
Hoping you all have a magical week!
xoxo,
Jen
Fantastical Fridays
Happy freakin Friday. Sheesh, can I just tell you… it’s been one of those days… where technology just doesn’t seem to want to work no matter what you do to try and figure it out. Usually I’d blame Mercury for this one, but the planet isn’t even in retrograde, and other than the fact that it IS Friday, maybe technology (i.e. iPhones, apps, computers) wants a little break… which who can blame it, but when it comes to my sanity technology better get off it’s arse and WORK!!! I don’t know about you guys, but when it’s on the fritz my whole world goes a bit topsy turvy. The flow of creative energy inside me seems to stop cold when my trusty (?) gadgets are not energetically flowin (even though they are fully charged… ahem). I need to not have a care in the world in order for this energy to really course through my veins, and for me to be in creation mode till the point that hours fly by without me even noticing. Technology is great, but sometimes I think the simpler times (sans computerized products) were so much easier!
Since I’m out of sorts today, I wanted to try and get back on track with a list of things that I am grateful for. That always puts things back into perspective for me and helps re-instate that beautiful flow of artistic imagination. Without further a-do… my gratitude list for this first edition of Fantastical Fridays and what makes them so fantastic in the first place (for me):
1. I didn’t have to wake up early today to go to work.
2. AND I didn’t have to waste precious gas driving alllllll the way to Burbank!! Giving myself extra hours back in the day!
3. I was able to practice with one of my favorite yoga teachers this morning.
4. Getting my new favorite holiday latte while laughing all the way with my bff.
5. Glitter… I am grateful for glitter and the happiness and excitement it evokes in me every time I see it. Yes, I may have been a cat in a previous life.
Ahhhh… so much to be thankful for, makes the trials of our difficult days not seem so bad, eh? What are you thankful for, and what helps to bring back your creative inspiration?
Have a beautiful and luxurious weekend my friends!
xoxo,
Jen
(Photo from Flickr)
Whimsical Wednesdays
One of the things I love most about art is finding out how the artist went about creating it, and how he/she made the decisions that resulted in the finished piece. Yes, I think there is process to creation. At least for me there is. Call it my Taurus rising and my Sagittarius moon… one loves being child-like, free spirited and creative, and one likes structure and process. Ewwww… the very word give me the heebee-jeebies, but this is in the utmost artistic sense, so it’s okay. I’ll give it a hall pass this time…
So, I’m going to let you guys in a little on my creative process and how I go about making my art. So grab a coffee, get comfy and I hope that this will artistically inspire you.
Ahhh… Planet Harmonium’s forest… this is my favorite page, thus far (for one can never pick favorites for too long). It’s as if spring, summer and fall are all happening at the same time. Since this is a different planet, yet is Earth-like, I really wanted to make the colors a little different, pop and be really vibrant, while adding texture. The picture to the left is my color comp. Here I basically print out a bunch of black and white copies of the page, then I play with different colors for the different elements (in this case the hillside, trees, animals, sky) until one of them clicks in my head… another words my, ‘this is it!!’ moment. It’s an awesome feeling when you have that comp finalized so that you can actually start on the official piece. Doing it this way also helps so that you don’t get started on something and find that your sky doesn’t go well with your other elements, thus having too… *GASP* start over!? No bueno. I like avoiding that whenever I can since these pages can take me 20+ hours to complete!
I use colored pencil for my drawings because I love the way I can add texture to get the pieces to flow and have more movement. I also like it because it evokes that child-like quality of the art, and the hues are so saturated, it really is like a bright kaleidoscope of colors! Here’s another color comp. This time, Planet Harmonium’s ocean…
Like I talked about last week, doing color comps is also a great way to loosen up and get wild with the color before actually committing to your final piece. Hope this helps!
xoxo,
Jen
