Hello beautiful spark of the universe how are you? I’ve had a week of ups and downs with a lot of sadness that I tried to embrace rather than resist, do you have it too sometimes, that you feel sadness out of the blue for no specific reason? I do once in a while. My Read More
♥ Willowing Love Notes to Inspire Self Love & Self Care ♥ Hello wonderful soul, Haven’t sent you a love note in a while! I’ve been dealing with a couple of difficult experiences recently and while working through them I was reminded of the quote: “The Wound is the Place Where the Light Enters You” Read More
Those of you who’ve been on my classes will have heard me talk about the arguments that happen between two parts of me: one part is ‘the illustrator’, the other is ‘the painter’. The illustrator in me loves clean lines, tight artwork, meticulous attention to detail. On the other hand: The painter in me loves Read More
Hello magical creative friend! Exciting news! :) Ever After 2019 is now open for registration AND we are running a blog hop and many give-aways to kick off this fun news! (Scroll down for blog hop and give away info!) Please note: this is the last year we will run Ever After! So if you Read More
Hello Beautiful YOU! Happy Self Love Valentine’s Day! Our Valentine Sale + Give Away is NOW ON! :D Get 50% off all my self study courses by using discount code: IAMLOVE2019 (offer expires on 19th Feb) Plus: GICLEE PRINT GIVE AWAY! I am also giving away 1 beautiful high quality hand-embellished Giclee Print of one of my most Read More
I’m so lucky to have Jane Davenport as a close friend. Guess what? She sent me a huge box of her latest line of art supplies and got to play with them all! :D Check out the video below in which I do an unboxing of what she sent me and create a new art Read More
Hello Friends! Welcome to a series we run on the blog called: Tea & Cake with Gracie :) Gracie interviews inspiring artists and posts the interviews (including some free offers not published elsewhere before) here on the blog. Today Gracie’s interviewing Jeanne Oliver. Make sure you check out Jeanne’s awesomely generous giveaway for TWO lucky Read More
Creative friends, I’m beyond excited to kick off the October, awesomely exciting & fabulously sparkly: Rainbow Unicorn Give Away! Over here at Willowing Arts we love connecting our beautiful audience of mixed media and personal development enthusiasts (YOUOUOU!) with inspiring businesses, people, services and products! What better way to do this by organising some super Read More
It’s here AND it’s time it’s time it’s tiiiiiiiiime to announce to you the AMAZING Life Book 2019 Teacher Line Up, hold a huge, big, mahoosive GIVE-AWAY and announce that we are giving out 10 scholarships this year! :D You ready? <3 New to me and to Life Book? What is ‘all the fuss’ about? :) Read More
Hey Good Friends! Many of you know that the magical Jane Davenport and I have been close art friends for many years now! I’m so very proud of everything Jane has achieved, it’s been a joy to see her come out with her amazing books and art supply line! I’m so blessed that she sent Read More
Hello Creative Friends! Once in a while we like shining a bright shiny spotlight on some amazing people out there who do amazing things!! For our very first spotlight we’d like to introduce you to artist, guidess and depth coach: Cat Caracelo! I love the work that Cat does with people, she dives deeply into Read More
Hello Friends! Welcome to a series we run on the blog called: Tea & Cake with Gracie :) Gracie interviews inspiring artists and posts the interviews (including some free offers not published elsewhere before) here on the blog. I love to create art and bring amazing artists & people together in my classes, in person Read More
In and amongst all the admin work and all the prep there is little to no time for art but managed to grab a small hour to create a quick sweet thing. 😊 🐱 🐈⬛ 😍😍😍
Frensies! I’m SO MEGA excited because it’s nearly time! On 1st September, A Year of Magic & Fairy Tales will open for enrolment, and for the first 1,000 magical souls, you can join at the lowest price available (these always go fast, so keep an eye out!).
If you’ve been longing for a year of creativity, comfort, and everyday enchantment, this is your gentle nudge. We’ll wander through glowing forests, meet enchanted creatures, and rediscover the magic hidden in the ordinary, with a sparkling taster event to start our adventure! 🧚✨🦄
We are deep in the trenches of prepping this magical event, I can’t wait to share it with you! 😍😍😍
If your heart needs a warm, creative hug and a sprinkle of fairy dust, this is for you. Full details, teacher line-up, and taster info are coming very soon; watch your inbox!
If you`re not on the newsletter, now is the time to join! Join the newsletter here: https://bit.ly/WillowingNews to be the first to get all the deets!! 😍😍😍 (or link in my bio/ linktree/ stories)
Celebrate Joy. In 2014, I went on a retreat in Bali with the wonderful Flora Bowley, and for some time afterwards, I found myself playing with the techniques and ideas I learned from her in my own art. I loved discovering all the luminous colours and acrylic brands Flora used; Quinacridone Magenta, Cobalt Teal, Quinacridone Nickel Azo Gold (sadly discontinued, I think), and Turquoise Phthalo have all become favourites over the years!
This painting is one of those where I experimented with methods and ideas from Flora, but you can definitely still see the ‘Tamness’ shining through. The whimsy and quirkiness are classic Tam! I love learning from other artists and weaving little pieces of their style into my own. Over time, this process gradually transforms into something that’s uniquely yours.
That’s why I always reassure my students not to worry about ‘copying’ a teacher’s style too much. In the beginning, you might follow closely; eventually, you’ll drop the bits that don’t resonate, and keep the things that do, putting your own spin on them until, voilà, a whole new style emerges! It’s such a beautiful thing, because we’re all interconnected as humans; we learn from each other in so many ways, and it’s lovely to have a legacy of teachers leaving gentle traces within the art you create.
For me, it speaks to a kind of spiritual oneness. It reminds me how connected we all are to the whole. ✨🙌✨
Have you ever noticed little hints of your favourite artists peeking through in your own work, or a moment when something you learned from someone else transformed into something uniquely yours? I’d love to hear your stories!
This is day 17 of a ‘gentle return to social media’ read more about this practice here: http://bit.ly/3IHFxir 🌱
When I was a teenager, I collected elephant statues; by the time I was 18, I must’ve had hundreds. I’ve always adored elephants. There`s something about their grounded presence and quiet wisdom that feels profoundly comforting. I love that they’re matriarchal, that they mourn their dead, that they move through the world with a seeming intelligence and heart.
When Andy and I lived in Sri Lanka for three years, we visited an elephant sanctuary and it was honestly one of the most magical experiences of my life. Watching the gentle connection between carers and elephants moved me deeply. They had a beautiful closeness I silently envied!
So it’s no surprise that elephants have wandered their way into my art again and again. I love painting them both whimsically and realistically. Their shapes are so satisfying to work with: cute chonky feet, soulful eyes, those expressive trunks and giant ears; it’s like they’re built for art! 🎨🖌️
This piece, painted back in 2014, is a special one. I was exploring how to bring more “grunge” and texture into my work; layering deeply, playing with contrasts. The rough, earthy background felt like the perfect contrast to the milky-white skin of the elephant, who gazes out with such a soft, knowing expression. Even here, she seems to whisper: be gentle. be wise. be still.
I hope she brings some of that same quiet comfort to your day, too. 🤍 🐘
This is day 16 of a ‘gentle return to social media’ read more about this practice here: http://bit.ly/3IHFxir 🌱
