Healing Through Art — The Gates to Wonderland Just Got Flung Wide Open

Lust For Life

The Poppy Forest

I started off my career in art exploring what I like to call ‘decorative’ painting.  You know the sort;  flowers, trees, butterflies, sunsets, whatever tickled my fancies.  There is nothing wrong with this kind of expression and it paves the way for mastering specific techniques and mediums but I always felt a yearning for more expansive art.

However, painting ‘decorative’ art allowed me to express my love for anything resplendent — the beauty of nature.

Pink PoppiesMy art took a turn when I started painting my gold patterned backgrounds (as seen in the picture — right), I was testing the grounds for a more out-of-the-box approach.  It was well received and I was happy for a while doing it.  These complicated hand-painted motifs of swirly patterns represented ‘life energy’ — something I have been able to see all around me all the time.

I still felt a hunger for something new.  I tried to dabble in abstract art, I have always had a love for abstract but found it the hardest thing to paint.  I dug deep for this but it still didn’t fit the criterion that was swaying in my soul and keeping me at bay from realizing my fullest potential.

Spirited Away

I dreamed up the ‘Rock Art’ series last year and half-heartedly began my journey quite blinded to how it was going to unfold.  After the Radiohead painting emerged out onto the canvas, I literally had a dream and was shown what it meant (read article here).

“Tut, tut, child! Everything’s got a moral, if only you can find it.” — The Duchess, Alice in Wonderland

Interested by this unusual turn of events I endeavored with the project and Metamorphic Dilatation (The Beatles Art) was born.

         Jeff Buckley --- Raw 24 x 36 LR

Love Story

Heart close upThe festive season came and went and I lost a tiny bit of my momentum with this series until I decided to pick up a brush and start with the Jeff Buckley painting (no. 3 in the series).  It was going to be Muse but something changed my mind.

What happened with the painting ‘Raw’ changed my life forever.  You can read all about it here.  After the painting was done I had a dream…

What Dreams May Come

I was taken by a man (couldn’t quite make out who) into a room where I was shown that an artist could extract the essence of a message be it through music, literature or any other means and purvey the idea into a picture — a kind of visual therapy.

“Read the directions and directly you will be directed in the right direction.” — The Doorknob, Alice in Wonderland

I was told that it is quite difficult to get most people to listen to music outside of what they know.

  • How many of you have tried and failed to get people to listen to the music you like?
  • Or try to convince them that something that resonates with you should immediately resonate with them?

Same thing goes for literature.  You can read a book and have an epiphany but to get someone else to read the book let alone have the self-same striking realization is a difficult task indeed.

It doesn’t mean that there is no message in the song or novel and it also doesn’t mean that your friend is an idiot for not ‘getting it’ or bothering to listen/read.  We all work to a different schedule.

But how cool would it be if you could, like an alchemist, extract that message and translate it in a picture?  Something that you need to just look at to get or understand the underlying current?

People are usually willing to look at something visual which can only take a few seconds of their precious time.

The meaning I got from my dream was that you can imprint a message or a code (something that sparks off something in you on a conscious or unconscious level) to trigger a healing within you to take place.

Or a prompt to get you to explore the music or literature (or whatever medium is being transmuted) further which may activate that message you need.

The Sound of Music

To download as desktop wallpaper or to print and use around the home/office as mini-posters — just click on the picture, right-click and 'save as' to your computer.  All rights reserved.A good friend (who synchronously is a musician who is working on healing music at this very moment) and I were debating and bouncing off concepts of a universal and quantum nature (we came up with the caption to your right).

We were discussing how music, in itself, can transport you to places that words only try to point you towards.

Obviously, not all music does this — there is music and there is music.  Some music can be very base and hollow, coming from the ego or the want for fame and money.  Other music relays a message — it could be a cosmic or earthly message.  It could be consumed on an unconscious or conscious level.

  • Have you ever noticed how music can lift your spirits?
  • Or get you to go deeper into your emotions?
  • Or simply move you to tears of bliss or sorrow?

The classical composers like Bach and Debussy excelled at elevating the soul.  It’s as if they could take you to a higher dimension to feel the music in and around you — letting the vibrations pulsate through every cell in your body, literally absorbing the encoded transmissions of the wonders of 8th dimensional sound frequency.

Alice Through the Looking Glass

blue butterfly pngThis brings me back to the many epiphanies I’ve been having this month through dreams, synchronicities, ‘a-ha’ moments with friends and family members and opening my mind to new possibilities with the all-encompassing help of the Universe itself.

Talk about unity consciousness at work!  We are all so interwoven into this fabric of existence and we reflect so much to and in each other, which ultimately, reflects the entire cosmos.  We are One.

So, Alice has been journeying into the reflections of herself and has pulled out all her resources to finally discover what she’s been prepping for.

“Curiouser and curiouser!” — Alice in Wonderland

I started this site wanting to merge my passion for writing with my love of music and art.  I set out to do this as best I could, floundering a little at times as I tried new ways to do this.  None of which truthfully felt like the puzzle pieces fitted.

With this new insight I finally feel like the puzzle has at last become a recognizable picture (as we are usually given the pieces without the added benefit of having the box image for a reference — no, that would have been too easy).  I get to merge the trinity of music, art and literature into one capsule that can benefit the observer in a flash.

I couldn’t have asked the Universe for a better connection to work through me, expressing the Source, than this!

No wonder you’re not supposed to try to ‘control’ the nooks and crannies of how your path will unfurl — nothing out-of-the-box will ever develop with you trying to manipulate it at every turn with only your current understanding of how the world works.

They Call Me Trinity

I need to trim my time expenditure on this site and neatly package it to fit this new revelation.

So, instead of having an art/creativity blog on Tuesday, a spiritual blog on Thursday and a Free Giveaway blog on Friday, I have decided to reconcile all three if these into one new and exciting blog (to come out every Wednesday from next week) that will have inspiring verses, tasty visuals and something for nothing.

I will, from time to time, blog articles of value or interest on any given day but you can rely on the Wednesday blog to be a weekly occurrence.

That’s All Folks!

And that’s the rundown of how this year began for me — thanks for journeying with me and I hope you’ll stick around to see what’s to come in the bright and uncharted future of this magnificent virgin Wonderland.

What The Beatles Look Like From the End of my Paintbrush

If you want to recap on my last article about beginning this Beatles project, please CLICK HERE.

If you want to recap on the whole ROCK ART series BEGIN HERE

Let’s get on with the big reveal…

Whimsical, Colourful, Bright and Vibrant

The title just encapsulates the outcome of this project.  It is just dripping with juicy hues, abstract sensations and psychedelic fantasy.  But what would you expect from a painting inspired purely by listening to the Beatles — non-stop?

I really felt quite taken back to my youth with this one (no, not quite to the swinging ’60’s — I’m a 70’s baby).  There was just so much reminiscence going on with this painting that a bit of child-like play surfaced in the making of this bold artwork.

Compared to the Last

When I put the Radiohead painting up next to this one, I really get a sense of what I’m trying to achieve with this Rock Art project.  They couldn’t be more different!

I am going to have a pictorial comparison at the end of this blog for all you curious types.  Please feel free to share your views.

Without Much Ado…

Here is the final product:

Here is that comparison between the Radiohead painting and The Beatles one:

    

As you can well see, the difference is quite apparent.  So there really is something in this whole experiment with painting to different types of music.  My curiosity is peaked and I am now really looking forward to doing the rest of this series.

Because Muse has just released their 6th album (2nd law), they are going to be next in line — can’t wait to see what cosmic waves are going to come out of my paint pots this time.

The Title — Help!

Before I sign off, I haven’t come up with a title for this yet.  I was wondering if perhaps you could contribute any suggestions you may have that would befit this painting — the title needs to sum it all up.

Please leave your suggestions in the comment section below.  Any feedback, critique or just general banter are welcome!

UPDATE:  The title is ‘Metamorphic Dilatation’ (the process of changing and expanding)

Albums that I listened to in the Making of This:

Rubber Soul

Magical Mystery Tour

Abbey Road

Sgt. Pepper

Help!

Revolver

My husband told me that it’s John’s birthday soon (9 October)…so,

‘Happy Birthday, John’ — missed but never forgotten, your music lives on in all of us! 

Related Articles:

What Radiohead Looks Like Through The End of My Brush

Rock Art Series — The Beatles

Rock Art Series — The Beatles

Yes, I know I have kept you waiting for the second piece of this series but wait no longer!

For those of you who have not been following the ‘Rock Art’ journey, you can check out what’s been going on (within you and) without you here: 10 Bands, 10 Paintings — Let the Rock Art Begin!

I’m Such a Tease!

Well, this is just another teaser pictorial blog because the painting isn’t quite finished yet. However, the groundwork has been laid and we are good to go in the colorizing department.  This painting is done a bit arse about face (an idiom for arranging the opposite way to the way it should be) but that is typical of someone who has their head stuck in alternate realities.

I have inked out the content and now I’m going to be adding the delectable and bright colors that are just waiting to burst forth onto the canvas.  It’s going to be a bit like a coloring-in book, I guess.  How exciting and unprecedented this Rock Art series is turning out to be — such toe-tingling excitement!

Painting No. 2 — Let Me Present….

I have decided it is the turn of The Beatles to rock ‘n roll their way onto my second canvas in this series.  As I’m sure you’ll notice, the effect is rather different from the Radiohead painting.  Well, it should be!

They’re both great bands but worlds apart.  I really got a feeling of animated abstract fun and foolishness when I went into ‘Beatles’ mode.  It brought back a lot of childhood memories and whimsical, magical (mystery tours?), experimental modes.

A Girl with a Plan!

This time I was savvy and started writing out all the emotions that were coming up as I was setting out the drawing (I squiggled them down on the side of the canvas — pure genius even if it does look a bit untidy).

Here are a few keywords I wrote down.  Yes, some are rather strange, I admit — but this is what came up for me:

  • Fun
  • Candid
  • Innovative
  • Serious
  • Rigid (?)
  • Abstract
  • Exciting
  • Mentally Delicious

I like the last one, I think that sums up The Beatles quite well…maybe not mental, but certainly aurally delicious.

I am not revealing the picture as a whole but have cut it up into segments to add to the intrigue.  Here are some sneak peeks of the painting :

    

You can see it in its entirety when it is finished.  If you think it looks busy now, wait until the hue shows its face!

I hope to have the full color version for you within the next 2 weeks, so do tune in to the Tuesday Art/Creativity blog here by hitting that ‘follow this blog’ button in the left-hand sidebar of the homepage or at the bottom of the page (yeah, that wafty ‘follow’ button-thingy that should be following your every move).

For All You Shy Little Sausages

Oh, and one last thing…so many people write to me privately and tell me about the creative projects that they have undertaken.  I love to hear about your experiments but please share them with everyone!  It would be great if you could tell us what you are getting up to in the studio or what you have done in the past that’s new and innovative — don’t be shy, we’re all eager to hear about your creations.  Leave a comment… 😀

TO VIEW THE FINISHED PAINTING CLICK HERE!

The Grand Band Reveal is Today!

The Shortlist of Muso’s to Make the Grade

I launched my new idea for an art collection last week, please read it here to recap.

The bands and musicians that I am going to explore auditorily and interpret visually on canvas are (in order of my being introduced to their music):

  1. David Bowie
  2. Queen
  3. Pink Floyd
  4. The Beatles
  5. Skunk Anansie
  6. Radiohead
  7. Rufus Wainwright
  8. Templeton
  9. Muse
  10. Jeff Buckley

Ha!  And there you have it…I will be embarking on the first painting of this series this week and, with a bit of cosmic luck, may have something to blog about next week.

Proceedings…

I am not going to pressure myself to paint in this order — I am basically going to work it on my mood and who I feel like listening to at that given time.  Make sense?  No?  Well, that’s fine!

Wish me luck as I have no idea how this is going to turn out  🙂

Click here to see the next stage

Who are your favourite musicians of all time?  Come on, list at LEAST 3 bands you could never do without.  Let them feel the love.

How Many Carrots does it take to Screw in a Light Bulb?

I’m not too sure what the answer to the joke is…perhaps none as they were all rooted to the spot?

The Vege-Tate Gallery — Beginnings…

My idea for a Vege-Tate Gallery grew into full blossom when my husband and I decided to try and plant a vegetable garden around the back of our house.

This was no easy task as we have vegetable guzzling baboons to contend with on a regular basis — so strong fencing and locks were needed for this venture to succeed.

I am happy to report that my actual vegetable patch is doing very well and is starting to bear the fruit of our hard-earned labour.  Well, except for the poor runner beans that never made it to the finishing line due to a critter biting them off at the base of the stem, which consequentially led me to create the ‘Has Bean‘ design.  You have to work with this!

Whilst planting the seeds of the garden, my mind started pondering all these crazy ideas for a vegetable joke shop with lots of corny but fruity ‘green’ humour.

The designs started to take shape as I sketched out the ideas as they came to me, with a little help from the hubby.

The Next Step

When I had a good 20 designs to work with, I began the digital journey of drawing them onto the computer (yes, using my mouse!  I am still using that old archaic rodent until I get my digital pen) and loading them as t-shirt designs.

I am officially launching my new gallery entitled ‘The Vege-Tate Gallery’ — I do hope you enjoy them as much as I enjoyed creating them.

The link to the store is here.

Below are my personal favourites.  Next week I will showcase the rest of the store along with some other fun merchandise from this range.

Literally for the man who has everything!

This one is for the ladies — especially the ones that can make a grown man cry!

For The Beatles fan

For the humble…

For the melon appreciation club

For the overworked!

For the political activist

Keeping abreast of things

Please let me know what your favourite design is!