☆ Fly Away Dreams [friday art]

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Sometimes my dreams seem to float away on the wind, seemingly graspable, only to slip away on a gust of wind.

It is hard to keep a positive frame of mind when that happens, and maybe it's why I always have plans 'A', plan 'B' + plan 'C'.

So when plan 'A' doesn't work I can move onto plan 'B'.

Does anyone else do this?

Anyway, this has obviously been on my mind a bit when I painted this painting:

'FLY AWAY DREAMS'
approx 12 x 8 in. acrylic + water colour
For Sale: $59 + postage.
email me for more information

Changing the topic - I am sure you are all aware that google reader will be closing its figurative doors come July. I am also sure that you are aware some of the options that are available to us now to read out favourite blogs. 

I use blog lovin' now to read my blogs + one of the blogs I follow is 'Sew Many Ways' + she has written this brilliant post on exporting your blogs from google reader. 

DON'T miss a thing - make sure you export your blogs.

I hope you have a fabulous dream filled weekend - I would love to know what you are dreaming about!

[LINKING TO PAINT PARTY FRIDAY]

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☆ LilliBean Designs Spotlight

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I am so excited to share with you some of the new + some of the favourite items I have available in my LilliBean Designs Store.

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Remember this painting?

Moon Child (original sold)

So many people still ask if it is for sale, I guess, like me, it resonates deeply with them

When the Wee Beastie was born, I decided to order it as a card, and send it out to everyone who gave her a gift.

And I ordered extras!

It would make a beautiful card for anyone wanting to send a card to a new mother, as a thank you for a birth gift, as a baby shower card, or as a just because card.

EDITED/ FIXED: I remembered after the post went live I had forgotten to activate the hyperlink (sorry!)

They are available here as a single purchase for $3.50, but  please email me if you would like a quote for larger quantities, further details and pricing options.

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Every month my newsletter subscribers have first pick of the specials + discounts available in the LilliBean Designs Shop (sign up here!)

For the latter part of 2013, I have decided that each month I will discount a favourite painting by up to 30%. 

This months discounted painting is Stars + Butterflies.

This is an A5  (8.3 x 5.8 in), mixed media acrylic painting
with collaged elements (butterflies + stars)
Normally this painting costs $29 for the next week it is available for just $21
(offer ends July 1st)

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I am so excited!

I have a sneak peak of what is available in the LilliBean Designs Store next month!

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Have you thought about affordable, original + unique art + crafts as a gift for a friend, a child, for yourself? There is so much variety out there and it is all very reasonable. I believe strongly that original art works are no longer for the wealthy. They are for everyone. 

Check out the Etsy website for heaps of art + homemade goods that are for sale.

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By the way, if you want the inside scoop, July's promotions, specials + give aways. If you want to know what's new in the LilliBean Design's store you can do so here

Have an awesome week.

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☆ When my Inner Bitch Came to Play...

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[so this is a long post - but, I promise there is a point - so grab a cuppa + join me]

A journal entry from last year that I made when the Little Bitch came to visit!

The other morning I was having this awesome dream.

I was showing a friend of a friend my paintings + it turned out she was an gallery owner + she wanted to have a show + feature my paintings. (Great dream huh?)

She was so enthusiastic, so positive - she loved my work + wanted to share it with everyone, she wanted a show, she wanted to open in three weeks, and surely I could I have eleven paintings done by then. 

I remember feeling apprehensive (eleven paintings!), I would have arrange with mum to take the girls, but it was workable + in the end I agreed to it.

So obviously three weeks has passed because next in my dream, there is a team of artists in my house, hanging up paintings of theirs next to mine, and it turns out that this is a showing of several artists (all who have had a show before). 

Which is cool, but now I am really nervous.

And so we sit around my living room, (I am on the edge of the sofa), and the still really enthusiastic gallery owner decides it would be awesome if all the other artists take turns and comment on my paintings.

And this is where my awesome dream became something else. Something awful for me.

One guy says 'It's not my thing', another says 'I like the boy painting' (not one of my paintings) and so one by one there are these artists critiquing my work and not. one. person. has something nice to say. 

But it was ok. I mean, I was ok with it. I remember thinking - well art is subjective + not every one is into whimsey big eyed girls. 

And then there was this one artist, one whose opinions I really valued. And she was a really close friend of the owner. And so she began. 

And it wasn't good. It was so very critical. And she kept going.

Despair entered my heart. The positivity was replaced with something UGLY

And then I woke up.

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And I still felt despair, negative, useless. 

I. felt. like. shit.

You see I am usually really great at dealing with my inner bitch. I have learnt several ways to cut her off, give her a bitch slap and send her on her merry way. 

But how can I deal with this when I am asleep - when I am my most vulnerable.

So in the end I could do nothing about the bitch visiting me in my dreams, but I could do what I had planned that day - I could paint.

I still felt sad + negative. Cranky. But then I thought about what I would have done last year, three years ago, even five years ago.

And finally what shook me out of my mood were these realisations:

* One year ago - I would have taken a few days off painting. I would probably not have opened my sketch book;

* Three years ago - I would have taken a week or two off. I would have felt self loathing + disgust that I was letting the bitch win, but instead of drawing, I would have hid behind my busy life;

* Five years ago - I would have packed up the paints + pencils, put them in a dark cupboard + refused to think about art for another two years.

A journal entry from last year that I made when the Little Bitch came to visit!

So, I know we ALL have this little voice in our head.

I know we ALL suffer set backs, bad days, negative thoughts

But what I want you to do is think back to a year ago, three years ago, even five years ago + think about how you reacted to the little voice.

Think about it, and then think about NOW. Have you changed in the way you react? Are you still  terribly vulnerable + tender? Or are you a seasoned bitch slapping bad ass? (I love that so much I have a post it note on my studio wall!)

I would LOVE to know where you are with in your own battle with the bitch. Do you call her/ him/ it a name like me? Do you you have a way of dealing with her that you would like to share? Or do you just need some one to say you are awesome? ('cause you ARE)

I would love to hear your stories. 

Have a fabulous week.

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