Lions in my studio...

Oh what a journey I have been on for the past few months!

When my dear friend and fellow LifeLineTM practitioner, Nikki contacted me the end of January,  I had no idea what I was in store for!  It was the end of my son's winter break and he was getting ready to go back to school for his 2nd semester at the University of New Haven.  I was taking him out to brunch for his final day home when...

 Nikki called me to say, "I wrote a book."

She was looking for an artist to illustrate her book cover and she wanted lions.
​I was already doing a lot of meditation and inner work and painting cheetahs.

Well of course I said, "HELL YES!"

Low and behold that dive into this super star project has started me down an amazing path of awareness, self-discovery and creativity that I am STILL on as I continue to work on this project!

Without giving too much away, Nikki's book is about relationships and our subconscious mind's role in them.  Of course it's about so much more, but the lions are the metaphors.

So basically, Nikki's invitation catapulted me into this intense lion energy in my studio and in my life and it was mirroring the work I have been doing in therapy and meditation.

This has become the alchemy for some very powerful paintings
as well as strong shifts in my consciousness and my creative fire!

​Here is the book cover, which was originally going to be the only actual painting for the project:

This painting really kicked my ass and went through lots of transformation!
Mainly because I had a poor reference photo.  But what happened was that it forced me to dig deep inside of myself and channel what was to be the finished painting that you see above.

This was about trusting my intuition and believing in myself.

Well, I became so inspired and in the flow of this powerful energy that...

 I ambitiously took on the challenge of creating 5 more paintings!

I had an incredible experience working on this lion painting (to the left) where I felt completely connected to source and creative energy flowing through me!

While I am still working on these paintings,  I continue to receive new inspiration and guidance and ultimately, it has led me to a path I have been resisting lately, oil painting.
​

I purchased new oil paints and mediums several months ago in an effort to get back to oil painting that I had learned and practiced when I was in college.  My first couple of attempts were not great and it is hard to get used to the nature of the oils that can take days, even weeks to dry when I have become so accustomed to the fast drying properties of the acrylic paint.

Well, to make a long story short, it has become clear to me that I need to finish the paintings in oils.  

I need to let go of the limiting belief that I will "mess" them up.

So, I'm hoping to dive into some oil paints in my studio over the next several days, wish me luck!
I look forward to keeping you posted with how things develop with these lions!

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If you would like to meet my friend Nikki, here is a painting in progress
​of her and her lion that will also be in the book: