Summer isn’t over yet! As July turned into August, I deliberately chose to continue the summer feeling for one more month. And what a brilliant month it has been (except for a terrible sinus infection). Besides lazy breakfasts, walks with my cat, hammock time and old movies, we enjoyed another nice visit from overseas. 

As September is approaching, I’m thinking of enjoying one more month of the magical summer feeling before autumn arrives. How about that?

But first, I’m gonna recap a little from August days in my studio. When thinking back on my studio time, I believe I made some progress and discovered new ways to deal with old problems. Ha ha! After all, being an artist takes a lot of problem solving. 

What’s up?

Last month of summer holidays gave me lots of studio time. I’d say much wanted and needed studio time after busy months of work and travels. 

During my summer vacation I restarted my daily art practice and continued working on my long term project finding my deeper voice. I also started exploring a new Wabi Sabi project; the art of imperfection. But most of the time I had lots and lots of fun. 

People and artists are different, there are various ways of carrying out one’s art practice. Those who know me, will know that I always work on parallel projects, both short term and long term projects. This is a glimpse from one of them:

Process-based  

Some of you might know that I am a process-based artist. That means I explore the “unknown” parts of the creative process. The question: “I wonder what happens if?” really inspires me to paint and to explore new ways of doing stuff. 

I work on several paintings at the same time. Each painting takes me on a ride, where neither of us knows the final destination until we arrive. Thus art is a guide and has much to teach me about life, what is going on in the world and about myself.

My work evolves, ebbs and flows, sometimes circling back for another look or to re-work. I have learned to accept these changes to be authentic and truly embrace my own creativity and my own voice. I paint what I cannot express in words.

The painting process is a never ending story: 1) what happens if I try this 2) did it work out? 3) how do I respond to that? 

Hang in there! The clue is never giving up! Sooner or later the painting will fall into place. At some point there is nothing more that I want to change. And that’s when I know the painting is finished. Voila! 

I love my studio, and what happens there. It’s my happy place!

Inspiration 

Every month I search for inspiration. Besides reading lots of books and visiting some interesting art exhibitions, I had the pleasure of spending time with one of my nieces from overseas. We had some really interesting conversations, I’d love to do that more often! My husband and I continued revisiting some of our favourite old movies. So weird to discover you’ve forgotten half of the story, but what a joy!

So, what’s not to like about August? Hope you’ve had a good one, too!

Heads up!

People keep asking me how to buy my works. HEADS UP! here are some news for you: 

• New original works will be available from my website soon! 
• More info to come next month. 

Sign up for my mailing list /newsletter to be first in line to grab one!

Thank you for reading! I’ve had the most wonderful August days in my studio, my Happy Place which brings me joy and happiness and fills me with energy. Soon I will share some of the results with you. Stay tuned!