tara winona art

Dear All,

I have had an identity change!

I have decided to be Tara Winona and not Stargrace - and so am changing everything over and transfering my blog to http://tarawinona.blogspot.com/

When we have figured out how to make the URL etc work you will be able to type in http://www.tarawinona.com/ and it will take you straight there!

All items on my Stargrace etsy shop are now under Tara Winona also -
http://www.etsy.com/shop/Tarawinona

For those of you following me on Stargrace I would love it if you would follow me from Tara Winona!

Sending you all lots of love x

a day in the studio

I am blessed to have many creative friends. One came and joined me for lunch and a spot of photography! She is so talented, I wanted to share...

butterfly transformations or the Samba!

I have finished my painting! 

Oh what a wonderful rush of exhilaration I feel when I finish a painting! Oh the smugness of it!!
  

This one has certainly been all about dancing the Samba. It has been a wild dance - from joy to despair in seconds as I overeagerly dashed something down or lost the feeling I was seeking for.

I have inked and painted and painted and inked. I have dotted like Seurat and dashed like Van Gogh. I have painted so many layers that it could almost get up and walk by itself!

At midnight last night I was ready to let it go ... another one bites the dust... Today I came in with fresh eyes. Some insights from fellow artists in the studio and within a couple of hours it was transformed! Now I feel cheshire-cat smug and as if I can climb any mountain.  

The inspiration behind this painting has been all about transformation. Hidden layers that lie beneath, blossoming and bearing fruit. Beauty which is more than skin deep. A different way of seeing the world. From pupa to butterfly. I feel like I have been incubating a very long time and am finally truly waking up and stretching my wings.

For this idea to work the butterfly had to be strong and almost realistic (eek said she in the grips of a wild oil pastel samba frenzy!) Oil pastel was not the right medium for the delicate feathery feeling of butterfly wings. It is so deliciously lumpy and wild, like painting with gelato in its lusciousness - perfect for portraits, difficult for delicate. I had to find a different medium. Gouache and ink!

Pablo Picasso once said 'The artist goes through states of fullness to emptiness.'

Onwards!

From Bach to the Samba!

The images of my 'Little Red Angels' are so simple. When I dreamt them, I wanted their symbolism to be powerful and to speak louder than my arty technique.

It has been so challenging creating them in the free and yet incredibly constrained medium of watercolour - one wrong blob and you are out! They dry so differently to how they look as you paint them. It is always a sigh of relief when I open the studio doors the morning after a creative frenzy and see that they worked!

In other media you can paint over and hide any mistakes. In watercolour it is the juxtaposition of wild freefall comnbined with military precision to get it right. You can not hide!

My Faith series are so different to anything I have created before and I have learnt so much about myself, about persistence and willingness to learn, taking a leap and often getting it wrong (and then do it all over again!)

Watercolour for me has been like playing a complicated Bach sonata - all technique and controlled passion.

Right now I am working on my next adventure in the wild rhythms of oil pastels and ink. It feels fabulous. Like I am doing the Samba with swinging hair and a thumping beat! I eagerly dash down to my studio each day with such joy in my step. I am bursting at the seams with ideas and have to force myself to slow down.

I will return to watercolour and am determined to find my voice in its wild untameable beauty ... for now though it's samba on! (a little peek of a work in progress above)

cards cards!

I have always loved cards. I collect them and stick them on my wall, the images and messages on them inspiring me and becoming part of my 'courage armour'. I look at them to remind me of things I want to do, paintings I admire or ways I want to be.

And now I am creating my own. I have put my little red angels onto them and they look GORGEOUS! I gave one of 'Faith' to a friend about to make a big leap of change in her life. I was so touched by her response - I dream that they may inspire others.















On the back of the cards I have written -

I got a bit teary when I wrote it (call me a big sop!) as I remembered the times when I needed a helping hand to see the rainbow through the clouds. I do hope my paintings make a difference.

I took my first printed cards carefully down to my studio to take photos of them for my etsy shop page. I was concentrating so much I didn't notice that the tide had risen and overflowed onto the banks - wet feet for me!  Luckily I made it to the safety of my doorway and had a lovely afternoon watching the swans float by as I painted.

dancing stars

Some stars tumbled out of the sky and wanted to dance on the walls of children's bedroom to help them have sweet dreams.

Inspired by my 'little' sister who just had twins join my darling nephew who was not yet two - in the hope that they all may have lots of precious sleep! These danced into my imagination and also inspired my stargrace theme... I loved the way the watercolour paint ran and congealed into dreamy swirly puddles. An excercise in freedom and control - rather like children it seems!

Sending lots of love to those awake in the wee hours attending to little angels.

my hideaway studio

Because the universe is full of grace I was one day gifted with a studio. Somewhere in London on the river, full of magic and ripples of light sent scudding across the water. Herons sit looking like old wise men and if I am very lucky I catch the blue opalescent flash of a kingfisher.

I wanted to share it with you - this magic space which enriches and inspires me.

angel boy

I sat and thought one day of the love, patience and resilience it takes to be a mother. I am in awe of those around me who are parenting.

And so I drew this little angel in homage to my sisters, friends and all those raising little boys whom will one day take on the mantle of the world and have their own adventures. 

Sending you an angel - for your courage and to help you both as parents and someone fulfilling their dreams. 

And to little boys as they grow, hoping they keep their hearts open and their spirits strong. 

inspiration

Just back from Barcelona and in awe of what one man's vision and commitment to his passion has done to inspire thousands of people. The Segrada Familia, all of his work, is a monument to creativity and self-belief.

Gaudi you are one of my heroes!

balance

One of the things I have often struggled with is the balancing of the passion of my heart with the reasoning and logic of my head. 

Which one is the correct one to follow?

Often one will pull more than the other, as though I am in the middle of a balancing act walking through my life. When they are in balance I am able to walk straight and with confidence. When I allow one or the other to pull unreasonably I can veer off in the wrong direction and fall off my path.
      

Rather like a tightrope act finding the right balance in life! I had to paint it...

oh how exciting!

One of my prints got added to an Etsy 'Hidden Treasures' page! Jumping around in excitement!!!

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4c9ff38deb1e6d91e39274ec/nautical-pounce-cn-treasury-challenge?index=0

I am torn between painting all the ideas thrumming in my veins and getting more of my paintings up on Etsy ... A sunny day pulls me to my hideaway studio - an idea wakes me in the middle of the night calling out to be painted! After so many years of pushing pixels behind a screen it takes an enormous amount of discipline to do the computer bits.

Oh my heart is singing. I am having a wonderful time. How delicious is life when one creates the space to follow ones heart! (lucky I painted 'Faith'!!)

the creative journey

So here is my triptych of a journey...

First, the idea. 

                Then the leap of faith to bring it to reality.

                                                         And thence the flight into completion.

'May the road rise to meet you,
          May the wind be always at your back.'

           

                                                               Irish Blessing 

hearing myself again

On this journey of painting and drawing and sketching and dreaming furiously I have been listening to myself intently.

There is the inner me who dreams and the outer me who puts it into action and creates. The inner me is braver and wilder than the outer... with her anything is possible and where all my creative leaps of faith begin.

This feeling of listening to myself made such a powerful impression on me that one evening that I had to sketch it out.

It has felt as though I have come out of a deep forest into the light and am able to see my reflection again.

So here is a painting which I hope will inspire others to stir their deep well of creativity and see what emerges...

i can fly

As I sat looking at my finished 'Faith' painting I realised that she needed a companion to describe what happens after the leap ... and so I painted 'Fly'.

I wanted her to by flying amongst the stars, each one representing another limitless possibility. No longer blindfolded, she is looking calmly into her future.

A close friend of  mine always used to say 'take the step, the ground may be closer than you think'.  I ruminated that often the fear of the unknown, my imaginary dreads, are greater than the unknown itself.

Each of these paintings has about 20 attempts behind them to get them feeling right! Watercolour is so challenging. One little mistake and it's all in the bin - there is no undo button and I am often bamboozled. How ironic that I am encouraging myself to be fearless with this painting and even in the technique I must practise this!

So here is my reminder to 'Fly', in fearless serenity, blindfold shed and fluttering away.

'one day'...

Many many moons ago I was lured away from my art by the pull of bright lights and overseas adventures. For as long as I can remember I have been saying 'one day when I get a studio'...

... then, one day, I got a studio.

And I had to put my money where my mouth was. In a deluge, all of the ideas I had promised to finish baking 'one day' came flying at me. In the downpour I stared into the limitless expanse that is creativity and felt a little afraid. What would I paint? Could I paint anymore?

In a daydream I saw myself poised on the edge of a cliff, blindfolded, about to step off. Not knowing what the future held once I took the first step, trusting that something would catch me as I flew or fell. The feeling I always get when I am about to make a big change in my life. Taking a leap of faith, I was stepping out into the great unknown of my future. 

I knew I had to paint this feeling, to make a visual concrete reminder to myself that would help me should I falter - to give me courage, creativity and fierceness as I uncovered my old talents. 

And so I painted 'Faith'. 

I painted her 20 times until she felt right. Rusty skills becoming cleaner with each use, tears of frustration mingling with the paints. 

'One day' I breathed a sigh of contentment - she was done!

As I continued in my new artistic adventure, I listened to my friends and the women around me talking. I saw many of them teetering on the brink of making big changes, taking great leaps into the grand adventure of their lives. They kept reminding me of my painting. And so I plucked up my courage and decided to share 'Faith' with the world.

I went and bought an archival printer, some gorgeous inks and the most delicious paper I could find. I took a deep breath, pressed the print button and flew!

Now I am ready to send this painting out to the world...  Tonight I begin with my first art exhibition - through the smile of grace - shared with other creatives in Soho this evening. Women in the creative industry baring our souls and showing what is underneath our normal work. I am hoping people will see what I am trying to express. 

My next step is to set up a website and offer 'Faith' as a print... Working on it!

'faith'

This is my painting of what it feels like to take a leap of faith into the future...

this journey

And this creation is a journey into the unknown parts of my soul

And that is what holds me back.

The unknown.

Rather than allowing the passion of my soul to push me forward.

I hesitate.

Afraid of where this path of uncommon steps may lead…

My talent takes me to the cliff edge

But it is I who must choose to jump

Into creation.

I do not know where it may take me.

It can be frightening, these swirling mists of creativity

Waiting to be deciphered, calling out to be heard.

It leads me to a place that no one else can go.

It is I, solitary, at the cliff’s edge.

Contemplating the leap.

Alone.

     And yet …

                 …replete with abundance.

This colourful world.

My soul.

The rainbows of my imagination

Are my communion with Life.  My expression of humanity.

They are my response to the world.

I want to take them deep within me

Re-capture them and then fling them back out in joy.

I am not truly alone here.  I am surrounded by many jewels.

It is the knowing of which one to pluck.

And the courage to follow the journey to its completion.

And so I leap into the unknown and discover

  

 I

           

        Can

                      Fly

                                             Tara Winona   -  Copyright 2010