So, I'm finally done with this one. She captures a new beginning and represents an interesting journey for me. Dabbling in abstracts has always been elusive to me. I love abstracts of others; Flora Bowley's, Tracy Verdugo's, Mary-ann Wakeley there are many whose abstract paintings I just love but I find it hard to make my own. That said, I adore this painting I just finished. And I love that I combined abstract with one of my usual faces (faces, I'm addicted, can't help but draw/ paint them). :) I'm going on the Somerset Art Retreat end of September and will have the joy and pleasure to be taught by Flora Bowley, Teesha Moore and Orly Avineri. I'll also get to meet the enigmatic Erin Faith Allen (can't wait!!). I hope to deepen my understanding of abstracting one's painting style by learning from Flora! In order to put this painting up for sale, I hung it on our wall down stairs so I could take proper pictures of it and Andy (the magical husband) saw it and went: "Wow, it looks great! Can I buy it?" :) (He always knows how to say the right thing, haha!). And I said; "No honey, we need to sell it so we can put food on the table" - "Oh yes, ok, well, maybe we can leave it to hang there while we wait for it to sell". Adorable no? So this painting now hangs on our wall until some lucky buyer snaps it up! So let me tell you a bit more about it: 1. It's big: 28 x 36 inches no less! 2. It's vibrant: I used mostly golden paints which are known for their vibrancy, the painting commands attention as soon as you see it. 3. Lots of contrast see #2. 4. It's created on stretched canvas - the sides are painted - it's ready to hang (though could be framed if you want to). 5. Materials: 95% acrylics. 6. I love it. The girl's facial expression is hugely emotive to me. 7. I hope it goes to someone who loves it as much as Andy does :).
Dream Catching Original Painting by Tamara Laporte
Buy Now
£290 GBP
(+ shipping which will be invoiced after main sale as the painting is so large)
Even though the course started on Jan 1st, you can STILL sign up! :) You will continue to have access to all the lessons posted since the beginning of the course and you have plenty of time to sign up! The last day to sign up is Sept 30th 2013, so come and join us, we're having SO much fun! :D
She is joined by 21 incredible art teachers who are all gearing up to share their mixed media techniques, tips and tricks with YOU! Themed around self-development and healing, you'll be creating a minimum of 2 loose mixed media art journal pages per month (through a minimum of 2 lessons a month) which by the end of the year you will bind into a glorious journal (a Life Book)!
REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN! WOOHOOO! :)
Course Begins:
1st January 2013
Read all about it below, watch the promo video:
or sign up now by choosing one of these packages:)
If
your paypal email is different to the one you use on my ning site,
please leave me a msg with your ning email in the 'note to buyer
section' thank you!
Life Book 2013 ONLY
1 Course Space
£60 GBP
(approx $99 USD)
Life Book 2013 + 1 Bonus course by Tam
1 Course Space
£75 GBP
(approx $120 USD)
Life Book 2013 + 2 Bonus courses by Tam
1 Course Space
£85 GBP
(approx $137 USD)
Life Book 2013 Extreme!
(Includes all of Tam's LB2012 lessons - NOTE: the LB2012 group does not include the lessons of the guest teachers of 2012 only ALL of Tam's lessons + LB2013 of course - as well as a space on LB2013)
1 Course Space
£95 GBP
(approx $153 USD)
Life Book 2013 - Super Art Party Bonanza! (Includes: 1 space on Life Book 2013 - ALL of Tam's Life Book 2012 lessons (note: NOTthe guest teacher's lessons) AND you can choose 2 of Tam's other courses)
1 Course Space
£120 GBP
(approx $190 USD)
Life Book 2013
Installment Payment Plan
£24.99 GBP (approx $40 USD per installment) in 3 installments
Important! -> Payment for the Life Book 2013 installment plan is in 2 steps. When you click on the 'add to cart' button you will first pay a 'token payment' of 50 p. I need to do this so I can see through which link you came. You will then be sent an email which provides you with a link to click on to set up your subscription plan. Please make sure you do the 2 steps on the same day. If you take too long doing step 2, I may have to cancel your initial step 1 and you may have to start again. Thank you for understanding!
About installment plans - please note that if you sign up for the installment plans, you will - in the end - be paying more than if you signed up in one go. This is because for us to manage the payment plans is pretty much a huge administrative nightmare. So, I really want to offer it so that those of you who are on a lower budget can still join, but I have to charge a bit more per installment in order to be able to manage the plans. I apologise if this is disappointing, but if you knew how time consuming these plans are, you would understand! :) Love, Tam x
Praise
for Life Book 2012
"Hi peeps I'm just dropping in here to let everyone who's considering
signing up for the 2013 Lifebook know that they shouldn't hesitate.
This is the best £60 you will pay for ANY on line course. I have
learnt so much through Tam and this wonderful community of artists - we
not only learn from the fantastic tutors, we learn from each other and
that's half the fun - everyone is willing to share their learning
experiences, their tips and their art. It's truly an inspirational
place to hang out and chat and be a part of. It's also a terrific way to
sample lots of artist's styles and techniques and perhaps to try some
of their on line classes too - there's everything you need here whether
you're coming in as a completely new artists or someone who's
experienced, you really won't regret this. I honestly think it's one of
best 'experiences' I've ever bought into - Tam has made this a
wonderfully safe place to try new things without pressure, you can
participate as much or as little as you feel able or want to - you will
ALWAYS find help and encouragement. Thank you so much Tam for making
this possible xxx" - Dee Champion, UK
*Teacher Line Up has been announced, scroll down!*
We are going to be joined by an AMAZING array of teachers INCLUDING the awesome and amazing
Melody Ross
from Brave Girls Club! Eeeeeeeee!
:D
Don't miss out on joining this awesome course!
“Life Book – a celebration and honouring of self!" is an EPIC year long art workshop which will begin on January 1st 2013! With monthly mixed media lessons by Tam and a wide variety of additional lessons and other activities by another 21 contributing mixed media art teachers, you will be chronicling your development and growth of 2013 in many mixed media pages which by the end of the year you will combine into a journal (or Life Book). You will be part of a thriving, buzzing and creative community of artsy people for a whole year. The course will be overflowing with lessons, exercises and activities to keep you inspired and motivated. Additionally you will also be challenged to include self celebration/ honouring/ healing exercises into your journal pages which are bound to make you feel good about yourself! This is the biggest thing I’ve ever organised, I hope you’ll all take part! :) Download the monthly course outline by clicking on the PDF image.
Download a tentative supply list by clicking on this image:
How does Life Book work? Once you have sent payment through you will be added to a private group on my ning site. There will be some sort of activity every week, but you will get at least 2 main mixed media art lessons each month. I myself will contribute 10 lessons throughout the year and every month there will be 1 or 2 more guest teachers contributing a lesson as well. You'll be creating your lessons on single pages and by the end of the year you will bind all your pages into one big book, a Life Book.
How are the lessons structured?
Tam will provide 10 mixed media lesson throughout the year (she's taking 2 months off as 12 turned out a bit much in 2012, ha!). Tam's lessons will be posted on every 1st Monday of the month and this year there are 21 contributing mixed media teachers who
will each provide a lesson for a month they've been assigned to (these
lessons will be posted each 3rd and 4th Monday of the month). In addition there
will be extra things happening the other weeks: artist interviews to
inspire you, journal prompts to encourage you, extra art exercises, tips
and tricks, you name it! This course will be overflowing with lessons,
inspiration and stuff to keep you busy the whole year!!
You will become part of a thriving, buzzing,
creative community with opportunities to make new connections, learn
many new mixed media styles and techniques and make new arty friends!
Download all class materials to your machine, keep them forever
Learn many new mixed media techniques and styles
Grow and develop both personally and artistically
Receive extra inspiration, like PDF worksheets, art
journal prompts, free uplifting affirmation jpegs (for you to print and
hang up), give aways, artist interviews etc!
Connect with like-minded creative people
Make new artistic connections
Become part of a buzzing/ thriving art community for a whole year!
What else will I get if I sign up?
There are 4 different packages to sign up to! :) I am offering several packages which include 1 or 2 more of my courses for a reduced price, yay! These are the packages on offer:
1. Basic package (Life Book 2013 only) - £60 GBP (approx $99 USD) for the whole year) 2. Premium package (LB2013 + 1 course of Tam's) - £75 GBP (approx $120 USD) 3. Rainbow package (LB2013 + 2 courses of Tam's) - £85 (approx $137 USD) 4. Life Book Extreme (LB2013 + all of Tam's lesson from LB2012) - £95 GBP (approx $153 USD)
5. Super Art Party Bonanza!(LB2013 + all of Tam's lesson from LB2012 + 2 of Tam's art courses) - £120 GBP (approx $190 USD)
Installment plans are also be available.
Who can sign up to Life Book? I haven’t ever done any art, can I join too? Darling, OF COURSE YOU CAN! Life Book
is for EVERYONE! :) Sure, the course will be easier if you’ve done some
art already, but don’t deprive yourself of learning the awesome magic
making and healing power of art just because you haven’t done it before!
The course is suitable for beginners/ intermediates and masters alike!
Everyone will get something different out of the course. The course is
run in an open, supportive, inclusive and encouraging environment where
you can play, experiment, make a ‘fool’ of yourself and start all over
again! There will be no judgement, we will only love you and encourage
you! :) All lessons are conducted in such a way that you can follow the
tutors step by step, so you can do what they do, and if that bores you,
then you can go totally off the rails and do your own thing inspired by
their lesson! Sounds good? :) You are loved and welcome here, no matter
what skill level, for serious! :D xoxoox
What do I need and need to know in order to join Life Book 2013?
You will need a highspeed internet connection to be able to download the videos. If you have a slower connection you can stream the videos online and/ or learn through the PDFs, but the best option is to have a highspeed internet connection.
It will be helpful to have a basic understanding of IT, like reading emails, navigating sites like Facebook and flickr etc. If you're having trouble with some IT related stuff some help can be given, but in depth IT guidance cannot be given.
If you are planning on downloading and keeping the videos you will need to make sure you have "a few" gigabites available. Each video can be between 200 - 900 MB in size. Multiply that by at least 32 lessons and you can see you'll need quite a bit of space! Unfortunately I am unable to offer the entire class on DVD/ CD.
With regards to the personal development exercises: please
understand that none of the art teachers on the course are qualified
psychotherapists or psychologists. Therefore if you are prone to depression or if you think you might be triggered through one of the healing exercises it's important to me that you only embark upon the healing exercises knowing that you have an adequate support system around in the form of friends, family and/or a therapist to help you deal with painful stuff should this happen. Though there will be an 'emotional support thread' on the course available, the teachers and I are not able to provide you with in depth emotional support (as much as we would want to!)
The course is not based on any specific religious faith but may refer to and base lessons on and around 'non-dual' teachings. The theme focus of the course is 'self-development/ self-love/ self-healing'. We may refer to concepts such as: "The Goddess in You", "Mandalas", "Crystals", "Yoga", "Sacred Ritual" etc.
Are you ready to sign up yet?
Come on! Treat yourself to this awesome experience! You know you want to! ;)
If
your paypal email is different to the one you use on my ning site,
please leave me a msg with your ning email in the 'note to buyer
section' thank you!
Life Book 2013 ONLY
1 Course Space
£60 GBP
(approx $99 USD)
Life Book 2013 + 1 Bonus course by Tam
1 Course Space
£75 GBP
(approx $120 USD)
Life Book 2013 + 2 Bonus courses by Tam
1 Course Space
£85 GBP
(approx $137 USD)
Life Book 2013 Extreme!
(Includes all of Tam's LB2012 lessons - NOTE: the LB2012 group does not include the lessons of the guest teachers of 2012 only ALL of Tam's lessons + LB2013 of course - as well as a space on LB2013)
1 Course Space
£95 GBP
(approx $153 USD)
Life Book 2013 - Super Art Party Bonanza! (Includes: 1 space on Life Book 2013 - ALL of Tam's Life Book 2012 lessons (note: NOTthe guest teacher's lessons) AND you can choose 2 of Tam's other courses)
1 Course Space
£120 GBP
(approx $190 USD)
Life Book 2013
Installment Payment Plan
£24.99 GBP(approx $40 USD per installment)in 3 installments
Important! Payment for the Life Book 2013 installment plan is in 2
steps. When you click on the 'add to cart' button you will first pay a
'token payment' of 50 p. I need to do this so I can see through which
link you came. You will then be sent an email which provides you with a
link to click on to set up your subscription plan. Please make sure you
do the 2 steps on the same day. If you take too long doing step 2, I may
have to cancel your initial step 1 and you may have to start again.
Thank you for understanding!
About
installment plans - please note that if you sign up for the installment
plans, you will - in the end - be paying more than if you signed up in
one go. This is because for us to manage the payment plans is pretty
much a huge administrative nightmare. So, I really want to offer it so
that those of you who are on a lower budget can still join, but I have
to charge a bit more per installment in order to be able to manage the
plans. I apologise if this is disappointing, but if you knew how time
consuming these plans are, you would understand! :) Love, Tam x
“I
always thought my creativity and abilities would not be enough
to paint anything worthwile. I started life book, learned so many
differend methods and developed so much personally and artistically
that I now think about starting a creative business! When I really
look at my life I always wanted to do something creative and didn´t
have the guts... I thought I was not skilled, creative, good enough
even to try! Life book changed that feeling and my art skilles about
180°! (Thank you, Tam!!!) It
makes you stretch out of your comfort zone and makes you
reach for the stars - and you will reach at least the moon! :-)” -
Leila
Freiburg (a.k.a."Amy"); Germany
“An
amazing course that spans a whole year, and has lessons from
some amazing artists that have really inspired me to try new
techniques.” -
Monique Green, Surrey (UK)
“It's
a fantastic self-paced course with world wide, well known
instructors teaching methods in a way that anyone can create great
works of art. The course also helps to expand the mind opening the
door to creative thoughts that have been dormant in some and locked
in others. With visual instruction along with readable content and
available help 24/7 makes it THE online art course to enroll in! “
- Connie Foster Bissell -
Marshfield, MO USA
“Life
Book is a wonderful, Year Long, Art course. With new lessons
by different teachers each week. It's fun, and challenging, and it's
full of amazing techniques, I'm learning about new to me mediums,
which is great! And there's a personal development aspect too, which
I love. There is so much to it and it's very reasonably priced ....
it's exciting and wonderful! And at the end of the year all these
pieces of art you created will be bound into an amazing book. You
get lots of support and encouragement... and help when you need it.
And you work at your own pace. "WOW" ....I really LOVE Life
Book! ;) “
-
Phoebe Thibault-Sherrard, in
Kitchener, Ontario
“I
am taking this amazing year long art class. It has so much
information to learn and is so incredible. I can't recommend it
enough!” - Stacie Spencer,New Market, Maryland USA
“There's
this GREAT class called Lifebook, available on-line! The cost
is affordable...and it is so nice to have something to look forward
to each week. You can work at your own pace, you can download
information if you choose. The teachers are varied in style &
lessons vary in content so there really is something for everyone.
I've LOVED being part of this experience!” - Patricia
Bleecher, MA., USA
So, I don't know about you, but lately, wherever I go, wherever I read, people are MAKING THEIR DREAMS COME TRUE!
From moving into spectacular dream homes and releasing book after successful book to tripling -no- quadrupling their business incomes and securing licensing deals. From creating spectacular e-courses and going on hugely expensive art or business retreats to going on book tours and acquiring unicorns that serve them lattes. Dreams, people, are being made true!
And I don't know about you, but when I read about all this 'dream-come-true-making', it makes me hyperventilate, just a bit. It triggers something in my brain, a base reaction, knee-jerk, much like when I see someone else eat an icecream; I MUST EAT ONE TOO! Me tooooo, I must have more, do more, go more, have more, me me me me too! MEEEEE & MAKE *MY* DREAMS COME TRUE TOO! NOW now! Now NOW! Like a ranting little toddler - in my head. It's a piranha sort of frenzy that ensues. Oh the possibilities, the joy and fun I *could* have, if ONLY I made all my dreams come true!
I too, MUST move into my DREAM HOME, publish a BOOK, quadruple my INCOME, secure a licensing deal and most of all acquire a unicorn! But my unicorn won't ONLY make me lattes, no! It will also poop diamonds and speak French and oh I also NEED a private jet and a baby leopard, 6 acres of land with dancing ponies, a swimming pool in the shape of a mermaid and sparkling glass flip flops. And a butler, I must have a butler. He should be British, his name will be Jeeves, he will be kind and old and overly concerned about tea.
Reading about other people's dream-come-true-making antics makes that little muscle under my eye twitch a little more crazily than it usually does.
And then I stop the crazy for a moment, and look at myself and notice that I'm in a miserable space of lack. Projecting into the future where I live a life in which 'all my dreams have come true' and one very important thing is happening here: I'm no longer noticing the beauty of my life here now. Uh-oh. I'm no longer here. I'm there, feverishly working on my 'dream-come-true-making' plans. It can get to a state where I hardly even exist anymore. I'm not here because I'm there (in an imagined future which does not actually exist), so where am I? No where. Eep! And I've stopped noticing!
I've stopped noticing the stunning blue of the sky. The pink of the tiny rose bush on my street, the wind on my face. Dylan's curved upper lip. The taste of basil, my breath. The gorgeous pitch black of the night. Soft peaches and nectarines. Orchids. The twinkle in Andy's eye, the grin on Elliot's face. I've stopped noticing, while dreaming. And then, I wake up for a moment and become aware of how crazy making this 'dream-chasing' can be and then my inner zen chick comes out and has a few things to say about it too. She wants to say;
Oh Tam, beautiful Tam. Them dreams of yours, they are pretty and sparkly and lovely and all, but you have to remember one thing: dreams can be assholes. Dreams promise pretty sparkly things, but they do one thing that really doesn't serve you: they take the focus away from where you are now. From what is beautiful and spectacular in your life now. Dreams, by their very nature, encourage you to dream (ha) and to spend a lot of time in an imaginary future that doesn't exist. They can make you anxious, jittery, neurotic and stressed out. There is nothing wrong with bettering and improving yourself or your life, but don't get so immersed and caught up in your dreams that it means you disappear! Don't let your dreams take you away from here and make you believe that you are now in a place of lack. Start from a place of beauty-now, gratitude-now. Upon that you can build (and maybe make dreams come true) with joy and ease.
And I listen to her and I nod and think to myself: yes.
And then, this is what I want to say:
Often, no matter what we do or don't do: our dreams don't come true. And you know what? Instead of feeling shitty and miserable about that; I want to be ok with that. No. I want to be ok before that. I want to be at a place in my life, even if I'm in a mess, with an overweight body, sleep-deprived, a few grey hairs, without a dream house, without quadrupling my business income, without a book or licensing deal, without a diamond-pooping-unicorn, a mermaid-shaped swimming pool, a jet, butler and baby leopard and still be blissfully, irrevocably, stunningly happy, just as is. With gratitude, with awe and with joy. Because life is just that: awesome, joyful, amazing without all the external stuff. I mean like, have you seen butterflies lately?!
You don't need a house, a book deal, a car, a thin body, a jet (or whatever else) to be happy and at peace. You just need to be awake to be at peace and happy. Right now. Notice. If you think you can only be happy when you 'make your dreams come true', you are entirely missing the point of life. You are waiting for your life (your dream) to begin. For your happiness to begin based on external circumstances and materials.
Your life is to be enjoyed now, not 'only when you've achieved your dream'. When you solely focus on 'making your dream(s) come true' (whatever they may be), you're always projecting into the future and you're not noticing what you have, what you are, what is beautiful and awe inspiring right now.
To make matters worse; usually when you DO finally 'make your dream come true' it often doesn't make you happy enough and you start chasing another dream (not actually enjoying the first dream you chased after so desperately) and that way, never really living, never really being here.
Here, Alan Watts says it better than me:
So, that is my message today: it's totally ok when your dreams don't come true, because your life is gorgeous as it is, YOU are gorgeous as you are, right now. It just requires a shift in perspective dear people. (Years ago when I had a major RA flare up, I wasn't able to do anything for about a year, I couldn't work, or take part in any kind of meaningful activities, most of my year was spent in a bed, in a house, doing very little, it was a very trying and hard time for me, I was in a lot of physical pain. A friend called me up at some point and I asked him how he was doing, he complained about his horrible boss and how the trains were always late and I remember thinking to myself: "I wish I had a horrible boss and late trains to complain about it would make me feel SO part of life, I'd be so blissfully normal and part of society and have community and a purpose of some sorts." & It's all about perspective, see?).
Also: the bits we don't like about life? The shitty hard bits that leave you breathless with pain and grief: they are usually the bits where the most healing, enlightenment and growth occurs. (Just saying. So don't diss the non happy moments, they have value too as painful as they can be).
“The wound is the place where the light enters you.”
Disclaimer: I'm not advocating not to strive to be the best you you can be, and I'm not saying not to try and 'make your dream come true'. I'm saying: don't start that journey from a place of lack, instead start from a place of 'enoughness'. Start from a place of self love/ life love. Start from a place of awareness and gratitude for where you are now, what you have now. That is a fertile soil ground onto which you can build "dreams coming true but it doesn't matter if they don't because OMG a ladybird!"
And when you come from that place, that place of enoughness, awe and gratitude, it so doesn't matter if your dreams don't come true, it really doesn't because life is an amazing gem, a precious gift just as it is.
I finished the bulk of this painting while both the babies were sleeping, a blissful time, should've been sleeping, but art time is needed too. I don't get much of it nowadays.
