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July 02, 2024

Should You Pick An Art Style? 🤔

By Dan Tanner  |   in art journal  | Tags: art musings , art journal , tamara laporte , Willowing Arts  

Should You Pick An Art Style? 🤔

Hello Creative Friend,

Hey ho there fellow creative travellers! How are you hanging in there over there? I hope you’re ok and that you are finding moments of joy and creativity in your days and that you take time for breathing and sitting still.

I’ve been busy preparing the final EVER Kaleidoscope 2024 course and prepping a little trip to Scotland with the fam while reminding myself to breathe and sit still for some moments in my days too. Even with all this chaos going on, it’s important, if possible, to take moments for grounding and centring. Not always easy to do but it’s keeping me going, that and spreading kindness, painting my heart out and lately; sending contemplative poetic pieces of writing into the world.

I wrote this on my facebook last week:

“I try.

I keep trying to see the sacred in everything but shadows blur my vision. She said: “When all is dark, consider you might be the light.”

I used to be, the light, but I’m so thin now, emotionally, that is. I’m thinned out by carrying the weight of the world, the weight of the shadows, the weight of myself; too thin to hold it, old bones about to crack, wispy like mycelium but untethered, maybe candy floss in the wind, is the better description, easily melted by a few drops of water, ghostly, transparent. I fear I’ve almost fully faded.

But I keep trying to see the sacred. To *find* the sacred and sometimes I do.

I catch the divine sometimes; it’s on my tongue in a word I speak, or in a paragraph of a book which makes me cry uncontrollably, in a crinkly smile wrinkle on someone’s face, in the lavish rawness of a singer’s voice, in a soft breeze that kisses my cheek, in mysterious concepts like string theory, in silver worn around wrists, in the intricacy of eyelashes, in orange & teal watercolour paint, in someone’s random act of kindness, in loyalty, in my dog who will not give up on trying to get me to pet her furry head, her body language so comical it’s an instant awakening.

Sometimes I’m attuned to the magic that is in every single moment, it’s as if each second is dripping with delectable manuka honey, magic everywhere, buzzing with intelligent electricity, and I am struck by a sense of ‘how could I not see this all along’ and it elicits a chaotic, explosive and colourful galaxy of euphoric emotions in me. It suddenly all makes sense, the profound everything of it all.

And finally, when the shadows come again, and I can feel myself sinking, there is that whisper; “you are the light, you are the light”. And the shadows? They are divine too.”

– Tamara Laporte

And I painted this owl to go with the piece of writing:

Both were very cathartic to create!

And because I’ve not been on youtube for a while, I made another rambly but fun vlog/ studio update/ paint an owl/ warble about things type video for you all the enjoy! 😜

I share a bit about my days, the art I’ve been creating, the books I LOVE reading and I answer the question: ‘Should You Pick An Art Style’? 

WATCH THE NEW VIDEO HERE


And a little heads up:

  1. Expressive Soul Portraits has finished running live, but is now available as a standalone!
  2. Summer Sale: if you wait until August 9th, you can buy Expressive Soul Portraits at a discounted price and many other good deals will be included in this sale too!
  3. Missed the Kaleidoscope Taster Week? You will be able to enjoy a 5 day replay early next week, yay!
  4. Kaleidoscope 2024 – is the final ever Kaleidoscope I will run! Don’t miss out on it, join here if you haven’t already. ♥️♥️♥️

Much love,
Tam ❤️🌟💕

PS. If you have a question for me you’d like answered in one of my youtube videos, pls leave me a comment or simply hit reply on this email and I’ll try to answer it in the next video! 😊

You may also like:

  • New Tote Bags & More! Yay! 🤩

  • Want to win a copy of my brand new book? :D

  • Tea and Cake with Gracie featuring Melissa Dinwiddie

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Tamara Laporte

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Mixed media artist, teacher and author. I don’t see all IG msgs. For enq pls email hello@willowing.org - Join A Year of Magic & Fairy Tales:

Posting this one again now that I`ve properly scanned it! --> I’ve been playing with chiaroscuro lately — that dramatic dance between light and dark you see in old black-and-white portraits. Never painted just in black and white before (well, a little indigo crept in 👀). I love how moody it feels!

Open
Posting this one again now that I've properly scanned it! --> I’ve been playing with chiaroscuro lately — that dramatic dance between light and dark you see in old black-and-white portraits. Never painted just in black and white before (well, a little indigo crept in 👀). I love how moody it feels!

For my next Year of Light lesson we are exploring `chiaroscuro` (which is the use of strong contrasts between light and dark, usually bold contrasts affecting a whole composition). I`ve always loved the black and white photos of people like Marlene Ditriech and wanted to try achieve that type of effect in a painting! I don`t think I`ve EVER painted just in black and white before, but really loved doing it! (Well, I say black and white, but this also contains indigo blue and paynes gray). 😊 Really pleased with it, it has such a `vibe` (as my teen kids would say haha). ♥️♥️♥️

Open
For my next Year of Light lesson we are exploring 'chiaroscuro' (which is the use of strong contrasts between light and dark, usually bold contrasts affecting a whole composition). I've always loved the black and white photos of people like Marlene Ditriech and wanted to try achieve that type of effect in a painting! I don't think I've EVER painted just in black and white before, but really loved doing it! (Well, I say black and white, but this also contains indigo blue and paynes gray). 😊 Really pleased with it, it has such a 'vibe' (as my teen kids would say haha). ♥️♥️♥️

The wonderful Jennifer (@therapistsanctuary) and I filmed another episode for our series on the tubes (up soon!). Here are some of the pages that came out of that session for me. 😊 Loved working with fluorescent pink and in the end adding in the teal! 😍😍😍

Open
The wonderful Jennifer (@therapistsanctuary) and I filmed another episode for our series on the tubes (up soon!). Here are some of the pages that came out of that session for me. 😊 Loved working with fluorescent pink and in the end adding in the teal! 😍😍😍

Art Oasis! Another fun free art event!

Hello my friends! Exciting news!

I know we’ve literally just finished the tasters for A Year of Magic & Fairy Tales but I wanted to let you know about another amazing free art event I’m sure you’d love to join and it’s starting in only 2 days! 😊

So, I’m super excited to let you know that I am part of Art Oasis, a FREE online creative retreat starting October 18 2025. Yay! 🥳🎉🎊 (organised by the amazing Jessica Swift).

For 7 days, artists (including me!) will be sharing lessons, stories, and creative inspiration to help you slow down, refill your creative well, and remember how good it feels to make art just for YOU.

Here’s what you can expect each day:

💕 Fresh, inspiring art lessons (all levels welcome)
💕 Cozy Conversations – real, heartfelt chats with artists about our creative journeys
💕 Daily creative prompts to keep your ideas flowing
💕A friendly, global, online community of fellow creatives

How It Works

🎨 Watch online – anytime, anywhere, at your own pace. Watch one lesson or all of them – there are no rules and no risk. It’s completely FREE!
🎨 Fit it into your schedule however works best for you!
🎨 Grab inspiring free gifts from the featured artists.
🎨 Want to extend your stay in the Oasis? Grab the VIP Pass!

I’ll be teaching a session on ‘play and the inner child’! Attached is the painting you`ll make with me (or something like it) 😊

… and I’d love for you to join me! ♥️

To join click here:

https://bit.ly/ArtOasisTamx (or find link in story/ bio/ linktree)

This event is all about permission; to play, to explore, to create without pressure. If you’re craving that kind of creative joy, I hope I’ll see you inside the Oasis!

Much Love,

Tam 💕

PS – After you sign up, you’ll have the option to upgrade to the VIP Pass – this gives you forever access to every lesson (including mine!) and some incredible bonus content. If you grab it during registration, you’ll get the lowest price.

Open
Art Oasis! Another fun free art event! 

Hello my friends! Exciting news! 

I know we’ve literally just finished the tasters for A Year of Magic & Fairy Tales but I wanted to let you know about another amazing free art event I’m sure you’d love to join and it’s starting in only 2 days! 😊

So, I’m super excited to let you know that I am part of Art Oasis, a FREE online creative retreat starting October 18 2025. Yay! 🥳🎉🎊 (organised by the amazing Jessica Swift). 

For 7 days, artists (including me!) will be sharing lessons, stories, and creative inspiration to help you slow down, refill your creative well, and remember how good it feels to make art just for YOU.

Here’s what you can expect each day:

💕 Fresh, inspiring art lessons (all levels welcome)
💕 Cozy Conversations – real, heartfelt chats with artists about our creative journeys
💕 Daily creative prompts to keep your ideas flowing
💕A friendly, global, online community of fellow creatives

How It Works

🎨 Watch online – anytime, anywhere, at your own pace. Watch one lesson or all of them – there are no rules and no risk. It’s completely FREE!
🎨 Fit it into your schedule however works best for you!
🎨 Grab inspiring free gifts from the featured artists.
🎨 Want to extend your stay in the Oasis? Grab the VIP Pass!

I’ll be teaching a session on ‘play and the inner child’! Attached is the painting you'll make with me (or something like it) 😊 

… and I’d love for you to join me! ♥️

To join click here: 

https://bit.ly/ArtOasisTamx (or find link in story/ bio/ linktree) 

This event is all about permission; to play, to explore, to create without pressure. If you’re craving that kind of creative joy, I hope I’ll see you inside the Oasis!

Much Love,

Tam 💕 

PS – After you sign up, you’ll have the option to upgrade to the VIP Pass – this gives you forever access to every lesson (including mine!) and some incredible bonus content. If you grab it during registration, you’ll get the lowest price.

Haven’t done any abstract in a while and it called me this evening! I’m loving the combination of red and teal! 😍😍😍

Open
Haven’t done any abstract in a while and it called me this evening! I’m loving the combination of red and teal! 😍😍😍
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