Color Inspiration & Sneak Peak!

Just one more week until The Creative Color Challenge Kicks off.

As an artist, I seek and find inspiration in the most unusual places, but there are many constants. One is a photographer I'd love to share with you....my favourite inspiration: Yann Arthus-Bertrand.

Photo by Yann Arthus-Bertrand of dye pots in Fez, Morocco.

I saw one of his outdoor photo exhibitions probably over ten years ago, at the British Museum in London, England. I was totally blown away by it. The colors, images and all photographs were taken from above and the colours were so awe inspiring. This really left a creative mark on my heart.

As I've been thinking about color, I've had a wonderful time revisiting some of my favourite images AND I thought I'd give you a little sneak peak into some of the colors im thinking of for the challenge through the wonder of his "Earth From The Air" series, heres the book I have of his work. (These are in no particular order and remember not all of these will be chosen!)

What do you think? Is there a color not here, you long to try out. Let me know.

Cant wait!

I've also posted a list of all participants I've received emails from so far HERE, so if your name isn't listed, please send me an email (louise[at]britcreative[dot]com) with your blog/website url and which country you are from and I'll add you! Please take a look at your fellow Color Community and say hi!

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Coincidence, Synchronicity or Serendipity?

Those of you who have met me or visit here often know I strongly believe in messages from the universe and that we are all connected, we just don't know how most of the time.

I often say "there's no such thing as just a coincidence," "there's a reason this has happened", or certain people may come into your life for a reason. It's all part of the grand plan of life, we just cant always connect it at the time.

Well I HAVE to tell you this
little recent encounter in my virtual world.

Whilst in the UK, (on July 4th to be exact), I was chatting to my brother about art, blogs and other fun internet snippets (hes a talented artist beginning his own artful journey). I told him that I often google myself just to see what comes up! (Do you guys do this? If not, try it, it can be an eye opener!) Well I did just this, usually I get my facebook, blog, flickr, my artshop and a few other fun things pop up and also someone else who shares my name who works at greenpeace.

WELL. This time around when I googled "Louise Gale Artist" I found another "Louise Gale Artist" who lives in Cornwall, South West England. I did a double take at the computer, then thought "A relation?"....so I click and discover a glorious site of prints being sold for just One Pound. (a cool dream she has to sell 1 million of them to be exact!).

Now, printmaking is something I've been longing to get back into (I bought all my lino cut supplies a few months ago) so when I saw the pretty images on here, my eyes lit up and my heart began to beat faster! I then discover Louise is married to Peter so she isnt a relation, but maybe he is! So my brother and I wow at it, laugh a little about me having a name twin and continue to talk about his art, thinking no more will come of this discovery. (below is one of the cute prints on Louise in Cornwall's website)

So, fast forward, I'm back in the USA, launching the "Creative Color Challenge" on my facebook page this past Tuesday, when I see "Louise Gale likes" my page. Sooooo, realizing this is the same person I found, I decide to send a friend request through fb with a note. We get chatting and laugh virtually through facebook, how funny it is having the same name AND both being artists. She had found me a few months ago, when, yes you guessed it! she googled "Louise Gale Artist" to see if her website came up! :-)

Freaked out yet? Well, there's more......

We then started talking about artschool and uni. I explain that eventhough I live in the USA, I'm actually British born, grew up just outside London and went to Croydon College to study art, before specializing in ceramics in the "Potteries".

Louise writes back to me immediately and says "Louise, you are not going to believe this.....I studied graphic design at Croydon College in 1989". "OMG" i reply, "I studied general art & design there in 1989". We were literally a floor apart for two years studying different forms of art, but never met (that we recall)

HOW ABOUT THAT?

Maybe we stood in the elevator together as we planned our day of art in our heads or passed in the corridor.

I just know there must be more, so I'll keep you posted, but what do you think?

Coincidence? No, I think not.

Maybe something is telling me to get going on an idea I had back in March? hmmmmm. Its so funny because for the past 6 months or so, I've been meeting alot of other Louise's....was this just prodding and preparing me! (yes I know some may think that's crazy talk!) It's certainly woken me up a little. Whatever the reason, the universe has decided.....NOW is the time for us to meet.

It is funny and a little freaky to chat to yourself. (LOL).

I've often said to friends that I'd love to look down over a span map of my life and see times and dates when paths crossed over the years with people that you know now. I have made a few other discoveries of friends ive met here in the US, that were in the same place, same time years ago in another country, but we didn't physically meet, just passed as strangers in the crowd, not realizing that one day we would call each other friend.

Have you had encounters or discoveries like this?

P.S. Serendipity is one of my favourite words of all time. :-)

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Join me in The Creative Color Challenge! - August

Welcome to the "Creative Color Challenge!"

I’ve decided that August is going to be a month of letting go, exploring and playing with color (cant wait to get myself all covered in paint again!).

So I’m going to be setting myself a little challenge: to explore a different color to create with each week in August.

I‘d love for you to join me.

Different shades, (plus white and black in addition) can be used and this is going to be the challenge to explore!....creating something with just the one color. It's open to all, in any medium and you don't even need to join in every week.

Sound like fun?...... want to join in?
This is all you need to do......

1. Sign up by emailing me at louise[at]britcreative[dot]com with your name and blog address. (your names will be going into a draw for a color prize at the end of August). Its open for all to join in no matter where you are in the world). Also leave a comment below to let everyone know you are up for the challenge and list any colors you’ve been longing to explore.
   
   
2. Add "The Creative Color Challenge” button to your site to announce you are up for the challenge, (you dont need to have a blog to participate), tell your friends and encourage them to join us in this playful exploration.
   

   
   

   

   <br /><a href="http://louisegale.blogspot.com/p/creative-color-challenge.html"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4120/4811936163_78f2a25415.jpg" border="0" alt="ColorChallenge" height="125" width="125" /></a>"/><br /><br />
   

   
   
3. Starting on Sunday August 1st and every Sunday in August (there will be 5 challenges), I will choose a color for the week. We then have until the following Saturday 8pm EST to explore and create something using that color, shades of, only adding white or black. Creations can be in any medium; paint, collage, fabric, photography, mixed media etc. I may throw in an extra challenge on one of the weeks to mix it up a bit! ;-)
   
   
   
4. Once you have created your one or many color creations for each week, post a photo into the flickr group here: (please try to post by Saturday night 8pm est each week) and tag it with the name of the color.
   
   
   Then every Sunday night, I will do a weekly wrap up of lovely creations on my blog and pick a new color. If you would like to blog or share your discoveries of color that week, feel free to add a link to the wrap up comments on my blog, the facebook event and flickr. Then at the end of August, we will have a virtual exhibition of color extravaganza!
   
   
   I will also be sharing snippets and quotes about each color to inspire us as we begin creating. It's going to be amazing to see the beauty and diversity we all come up with, using the same colors.
   
   
   
5. Ready to explore? You don't even have to do this on your own, you could get friends together for a paint party, paint with your spouse, mums; this could be a great fun way to get creative with the kiddies. Whatever you decide, this challenge is all about having fun, exploring color and just going for it, so let loose, get your hands dirty and lets try that color we haven't had the courage to paint with yet!
   
   
   Challenge colors may include: Aquamarine blue, citrus orange, walnut brown, sunflower yellow, moss green and pink...who knows! So start collating your supplies and get your creative thinking caps on.
   
   "You can't be at the pole and the equator at the same time. You must choose your own line, as I hope to do, and it will probably be color."
   Vincent van Gogh.
   
   
   So who's in? :-)
   
   
   

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Postcard in the Mail!

I'm pleased to announce I got my Stitched postcard as part of the "Great Big Stitched postcard Swap" in the mail this week yay! Thank you Jade (aka Girl Ferment). Here's the cute card with a little tag to match too!

Such a fun time receiving and looking at all the wonderful designs. Below is my postcard i sent off to Nicole in Australia who posted about it on her blog. so nice.

It was so much fun to create this and i look forward to the next swap in October time.

Im just itching to get back into the studio and paint, paint, paint! Ive been busy this weekend, re-arranging my space, sorting things out and feathering my artful nest!

Watch this space for a challenge ill be posting on Tuesday for myself and anyone else who is up for lots of creating and exploring for the month of August, I'm so excited to get myself covered in paint again, are you?

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Happy 1st Blogiversary and Art Sale

Wow, this week is my 1 year blogiversary!

Flown by so fast....and I cant believe this time last year I jumped in, scared, nervous and excited to start this blog. Its been such a wonderful journey so far and I wanted to thank all of you who visit me often here to Dream, Inspire and Create.

I truly could not have continued without all of your support, comments, advice and kindness. This is such a wonderful community.

To celebrate, I'm having a sale and offering special discounts on my Etsy shop for the next week - ending Friday July 23rd.

See all the sale details here. To keep up to date on other sales, specials and events, please consider subscribing to my newsletter here.

Please join me in celebrating this milestone. What are you celebrating this week? No matter how big or small, share your own milestone in the comments and lets all raise a glass virtually this weekend. :-)

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Monterey Peninsula Retreat

Hi everyone and welcome to a new week of possibilities! I'm back from my vacation and ready to tackly my very long to do list! :-)

I'm very pleased to introduce my new sponsor: Catherine Just who is a fabulous Award Winning Photographer. Take a look at her portfolio here.

Catherine is hosting an upcoming photography retreat on the beautiful Monterey Peninsula this fall from Sept. 29th- Oct. 3rd. I wish I could go myself as it looks like a wonderful place to reconnect with your creative self.

She asks, "What happens when you allow yourself the time to dive deep into your creativity? What if you mix it with a gorgeous seaside retreat center, a group of fabulous like-minded people, tea, meditation, journaling, discussion, and mindful photography? Grab your camera and let’s find out! All levels of photography are welcome."

Catherine studied the self portrait through photography at art school.
"It felt like I was learning how to speak and photography was my voice....I also worked with Miguel Ruiz (author of the Four Agreements ) as my spiritual teacher for 5 years and helped him organize and run his power journey's so the spiritual element is incorporated into the retreats."

"My goal now is to provide opportunities for myself and other photographers to
come back to center and find authenticity in our creativity…by looking through
the camera and listening to our hearts."

Some lovely photos of the last retreat can be viewed below

If this sounds like that perfect retreat to spread your creative wings, then check it out asap. Space is limited, so please visit the retreat website for more information or to sign up.

It's a pleasure to have Catherine onboard.
Stay tuned for a more in depth interview with Catherine in a few weeks time! Check out her blog, photography portfolio and Etsy Shop too!

Has anyone been to the Monterey Peninsula before?

If you are interested in spreading the word about your blog, creative business or an upcoming event, please send an email to louise@britcreative.com for sponsorship information, interviews, giveaways and other opportunities. :-)

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Artful Sisters Across the Pond

Hanging out in Concetta's mosaic studio!

This week back in the UK, I took the opportunity to meet up with fellow "Flying" Sisters Amelia and Concetta - woohoo! I met these two lovely ladies at different times in the last year in our virtual world through "In the fish bowl" then on "Mondo Beyondo" and then again on the recent "Flying Lessons". How wonderful when we discovered that we were within 10 miles of my hometown in south London!

Concetta kindly invited us to her lovely home, where we ate, drank, explored her Mosaic art studio and chatted about our creative endeavours. I cannot begin to tell you how wonderful this was to finally meet these two kindred spirits in person after months of blog visiting, commenting and getting a tiny virtual view into their worlds. These are gals who are finding their creative community offline in addition to online so I cant wait to see where the next phase of their creative journey takes them.

Concetta's very organized studio.

So exciting to make these connections. Another artful sister Beth, is traveling across the pond from the UK to USA in September where both of us are off to SQUAM (YAY!) so im so excited to see Beth again and I just found out Lorrie is going too!

Anyone else going to Squam in September?

Do you have artful sisters who live close to you, that you could visit? or meet over coffee or lunch? Our virtual world is such a supportive place but taking the opportunity to meet face to face makes our creative connections that little bit extra special. Go ahead, make a plan and send that invitation. :-)

Have a great weekend everyone. xx

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5 Things that make me Smile - JULY

Lots of things made me smile last week in Spain, here are just 5. :-)

Waking up to this View every Morning

Funky Cactus at the side of the road

Man and Best Friend leaving Footprints in the Sand

Deserted Beaches on my Doorstep

Walking to the Beach Bar at Dusk

Please feel free to check out more photos from Spain on my flickr photostream.

Congratulations to Kelly who was randomly chosen (comment number 2 on the random number generator) from Julys First Friday Giveaway. Kelly please hop over to my Spain Flickr set and choose your favourite image, ill send a lovely super glossy print of the photo of your choice and a few other little goodies next week. yay!

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First Friday Find & Giveaway - JULY

Welcome to First Fridays Find and Giveaway for July. A monthly feature where I'll post some fun, inspirational or useful finds and also offer a fabulous giveaway from myself, sponsors or the universe in general!

I just popped in from the sun and beach to list this months FIND & Giveaway. (sitting in a wifi enable bar with a cold Spanish beer - I could get used to this!). Ive been giving myself a holiday from computers and blackberrys and getting back into podcasts whilst in this beautiful place watching the world go by. CraftCast with Alison Lee is something I found a while ago and have been listening to eversince. Last Sunday I shared the "Lady in Spain" song which I first heard on one of Alisons podcasts, it was played on the episode where she interviewed Kelly Rae Roberts who many of us know and love. (cannot believe flying lessons ends tomorrow!)

When I first started listening to the podcasts (you can also subscribe to them in itunes), I didnt know many of the creatives Alison was interviewing and the beauty of these resources is you can just go back time after time as your own knowledge grows and awareness of artists does too. (im sure you know many of them already!) Enjoy.

First Friday Giveaway
As I am still in Spain soaking up the silence, sea air and sand, I wanted to share some of that with you. So this months giveaway will be a 11x8.5 glossy print of something I've photographed whilst taking time out. (photos to choose from will be revealed on Tuesday!). To win, all you need to do is add a comment below, adding a recent find of yours or for this month something you have done to completely switch off, rest and recharge. Winner will be chosen at random on Tuesday.

I'm back off to sit under my umbrella and watch the sun glisten on the waves....ahhhhh. Enjoy your weekend all (Happy 4th to all of you in the USA).

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