A case of artist block...

For those of you who follow my website, you may have noticed I dropped off the face of the planet over the past few months.  No posts since the end of Sept 2016!  That's over 3 months. I did create a few paintings during that time - and I've shared  those below (I think these paintings are some of my best work - and they are all SOLD).  

So where have I been??
It is well documented that the creative process tends to wax and wane.  Seems I've stumbled into a period of "wane', also known as the dreaded "Artist Block".

So what is a girl to do when she's hit with a case of artist block... ?  Google it of course.  Apparently, artist block is a common part of the creative process. With that said, it's not my favourite place to be and I am trying to take a bit of agency to get back into creating mode.  Here are a few things I've added to my life to help work through this:

• Started a daily meditation practise - just at 10 minutes per day right now (this was also a new years resolution).  Check out the book 10% Happier by Dan Harris for a great read on the topic.   Here is an article on the role of meditation in creativity - particularly open monitoring meditation.  
• Started to work my way through the Artists Way (TAW). I am currently on week 1 of 12 for this program (as I'm not a big reader, I splurged for the online course). Julia Cameron developed TAW 25 years ago and it has held strong over two decades (here is an article from the New Yorker on TAW). Time for me to find out what all the fuss is about. 

Over the next 12 weeks, I may post periodically (no promises though) while I work at the Artist Way.  After that, I truly hope I'm back to painting more and having lots of art to share!    

If you are an artist or creative - I'd love to hear your stories about artist block.  Comment below or email me.  

Orca Plus One, Oil on Canvas, 9x12 inches. Credit (and thanks) to Andrew Lees for the reference photo! Not for Sale (this one was a gift for my sister).

St. Mary's Train Station, Oil on Canvas, 8x10 inches. SOLD.

Got this one framed!!! Shoot out to Guthrie's Framing for doing such a great job!!

Nugget and Bean. Oil on Wood, 8x10 inches. SOLD.

Poppy, Duncan, and Tate. Oil on Wood, 8x10 inches. SOLD