Things that inspired me in 2023

2023 has been a funny sort of year. The post-Covid era has piled trauma upon un-processed trauma. Despite this I have seen lots of creative, moving, energetic, exciting things this year. I'm sharing them with you in this blog.

Make a cup of tea and join me! We might be here a while.

Things I've seen

The Summer of Creativity 2023

Pick 'n Mix is my community of creative, multi-passionate women. This year we held our very first The Summer of Creativity, in which we completed and shared 31 daily tasks, all aimed at using and expressing our creativity.

Want to see the results? Click this link: The Summer of Creativity 2023

Acrylic pouring

I'm mesmerised by acrylic pouring and have a slight obsession with You Tube videos on 'how to' do them. It's HIGH on my wish list of 'things to learn'.

Do you - too - have a slight obsession? Watch a video here and get obsessed.

(Photo credit: Scott Webb on Unsplash)

How colour gives you JOY

What is universally joyful. What joy IS. What GIVES us joy. And yes, it's to do with colour. And bubbles. And abundance. And ... well, Ingrid Fetell-Lee has studied it for ten years and tells us all about it.

You can watch the full TED talk here.

The National Portrait Gallery

It's OPEN again, and as soon as it opened we were there. It's GOT to be my favourite gallery in London. NOW with MANY more female portrait artists and portraits on display.

The National Portrait Gallery - London

(Photo credit: Amy-Leigh Barnard on Unsplash)

Things I READ

Books. I LOVE books. I read - no INHALE - books. Although in 2023 not as many as I would have liked.

Here is a list of the Top 6 books I LOVED this year: My Top 6 books of 2023

Next stop: a shelf full of books on CREATIVITY.

Things I enjoyed doing

Oil painting of Tineke Tammes, a blond woman in a blue hoodie against a grey background

Portraits

I LOVE painting portraits. I love capturing - yes - the features in preferably the right order and proportions. But also the essence of the person, the mood. This is my self-portrait. A sunday morning selfie.

What portrait will I be working on next?

Something that made me laugh

I was almost a millionaire!

An official looking envelope, a bank in Cyprus, an unknown deceased uncle leaving me (me!) €21 million. What were the odds of THAT happening! Yes, that made me laugh.

Want the whole story? Come and join us in Pick 'n Mix - my community of creative, multi-passionate women!

Things that inspired me

Little Christmas Trees made of material hung on branches

My The Artist's Way GROUP

Have you read The Artist's Way - the life-changing book by Julia Cameron? More importantly, have you IMPLEMENTED her work on creativity?

Yes, it's so much better to do it TOGETHER! It's why I opened the doors to a The Artist's Way GROUP in 2023.

The ENERGY, the CREATIVITY, the OPENNESS, the amount of Artist's Dates and creative endeavours has INSPIRED me.

I can't WAIT for The Artist's Way GROUP 2024, starting in March/April! Join the Waiting List here.

Women's art

Did you know that just 11% of all acquisitions at prominent American museums over the past decade were of work by women artists? It's why they (re-?)opened the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington.

(And a bit closer to - my - home, check out this gallery run BY a woman FOR women).

My clients' journeys

Learn about the stories of my Visual Coaching clients. Because NO ONE's journey is one straight line.

Summer Show

Visiting the Architecture Summer Show in London.

Mental note: go there next year.

Listen

This video defies description, but is one of the most powerful pieces of music I've heard in a long time.

Listen to it here.

What has inspired YOU this year?