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The Artist's Way - Giveaway
Ivette Newport
The Artist's Way - Giveaway
Ivette Newport

Most recently, I have started the Artist’s Way book and journaling practice. It has already been life changing and very exciting! This book has a long legacy of helping blocked creatives and fostering a healthy artistic life and practice.

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Ivette Newport
Whimsical Portraits and Dreamy Landscapes
Ivette Newport
Whimsical Portraits and Dreamy Landscapes
Ivette Newport

Here's two special bonus projects for you as we go back in time and visit my very first online class - Whimsical Portraits & Dreamy Landscapes - A Mixed Media and Encaustic Workshop.

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Ivette Newport
Red Cardinal
Ivette Newport
Red Cardinal
Ivette Newport

I'm excited to share this second Colorflow video tutorial with you! For this lesson we will be drawing inspiration from page 112 of the Colorflow book!

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Ivette Newport
An Abstract Landscape
Ivette Newport
An Abstract Landscape
Ivette Newport

I'm excited to share this second Colorflow video tutorial with you! For this lesson we will be drawing inspiration from page 112 of the Colorflow book!

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Ivette Newport
Duality Of Self
Ivette Newport
Duality Of Self
Ivette Newport

I hope your week is off to a great start! I got home from The Art of Sisterhood Retreat on Friday and it was an absolutely amazing experience! My heart is full! As promised, I’m delighted to share the lesson I taught while there with you all today! I hope you enjoy watching the process.

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Ivette Newport
A Self-Portrait Collage
Ivette Newport
A Self-Portrait Collage
Ivette Newport

I just completed this self portrait collage and I absolutely loved the process. Working with your own image can be kinda uncomfortable but I think that’s the point. Right? Who said art making was comfortable?! Lol.

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Ivette Newport
 
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It’s moments like this, I feel gratitude swell in each and every cell of my body. . A peaceful night, rain on the window, two candles flickering on the sill. A steaming cup of tea. . Laughter from the the floor below as my husband and older daughter watch a funny movie. The smell of buttery popcorn. . And this one - this sweet angel - asleep next to me. In a tangle of blankets and pillows, her hair spilled out around her like a thousand strands of gold. . Her tiny chest rising and falling with each breath. How incredible she is -this precious creature - that somehow chose me as her mother...
Happy Friday friends! In case you missed it, we’ve kicked off our annual 12 Days of Creativity! 🎁 It is always SO much fun to share as many FREE Classes, videos, resources and other inspiration with you! ❤️ Each day we'll share creative goodies - free lessons, creative resources, discounted classes and MORE! It's going to be a lot of fun! It's time to kick off the Holiday season right! Come catch up on the Day 1 & 2 and see what’s in store for Day 3!! 😘 I hope you can join us! ✨✨✨LINK IN PROFILE✨✨✨
WIP- After writing, crying, reflecting, shutting myself away, walking through the forest, staying in bed, reading, wondering, complaining and some more writing!! (Thank you morning pages!) I finally arrived at a break through yesterday! Yah!! . After working tirelessly on a very precise, (rather tight) piece of work, I felt conflicted. Ugh. It felt stifled - too tedious, too predictable, yet I enjoyed creating parts of it too. Which parts? Um the face of course! Lol! . With gorgeous oils paints, I had created a smooth, portrait. Subtle shifts in value that gently sculpted the features. I used tiny brushes and blended and blended with delight. It was meditative and calming. . However, I found myself becoming impatient with the rest. I kept glancing over at the looming (unfinished) abstract piece that hung on the wall next to me - waiting for inspiration. I looked with longing at all the expressive marks and mysterious layers. The figure beginning to emerge, drawn with my non-dominant hand. Sigh...I love creating like that. . I looked back to the piece on my table. A tiny, yet pleasing piece but it was lacking all the spontaneous expression I enjoy. . I felt agitated and confused. Why couldn’t I have both? I seemed to jump from expressive pieces to tiny refined pieces - feeling disjointed and inconsistent. . Then, (through writing), I realized I needed to combine both approaches! Take what I love about the smooth, refined portrait and merge it with the expressive, intuitive non dominant work. BAM! 😍 . I suddenly knew how to proceed with the large expressive piece. (30” x 40”) . I had to combine chaos and beauty. Intuition and intention. Movement and stillness. . Then she emerged and I literally wept with relief and joy. She seemed to say, “Finally, you see me.” ❤️
I began this small painting in my sketchbook with black fluid acrylic. I used my non dominant hand and closed my eyes. Yup, I decided to paint blind at first - as a way to move past the resistance. I probably looked pretty funny. My 6 year daughter pointed this out. 😜 . I could hear her approach the table quietly. I kept my eyes closed and my brush moving. . She whispered, “Mommy, why are you painting with your eyes closed?” . I replied, “Because sometimes we need to feel more than we need to see.” . She was silent for a moment and then said, “Oh! You are painting your feelings! I do that all the time but I do it with my eyes open! You are funny Mommy!” . I replied, “That’s because you can still see clearly.” . She proudly said, “Yes! I’m good at seeing and feeling!! Sometimes, my feelings are too big and they get me in trouble!” She laughed and trotted off. I laughed too and opened my eyes. . I had a swirling blackness on the page but in that chaos I saw the beginnings of a face. With my dominant hand, I brought it to life. I then used my non-dominant hand to create marks and add detail. I was surprised (but not surprised) when tears began to flow. . A quote from the “Artist’s Way” keeps playing in my mind and rang so true it this moment -“Art is not about making something up, it’s about getting something DOWN.” - Julia Cameron. . This concept gives us amazing permission. We don’t NEED to invent something or make something out of nothing! We NEED to get out of the way so we can allow what is ALREADY within us to flow into our art. . Sounds obvious right? But how many times have I tried to create “magic” on a canvas with NO connection to myself?? MANY TIMES! I usually end up with something that feels completely empty and walk away tired and defeated, instead of energized. . Now, I can be more aware. I can check in and ask myself, ”Am I connected to this work or am I trying to “make something up” to achieve an outcome?” If I find that I am missing connection. I will now close my eyes and begin again. I will take my hands off the wheel and access the truth. . When I’m ready, I’m will open my eyes and work with what I’ve been given.❤️
I spent sometime last night just drawing circles with my non-dominant hand and after a while this face formed... . It’s not finished or polished or refined or anything. It just is. I’m sick of yoking my own critical judgements to everything I share. It is crippling to creativity. . Ironically, much of the art I truly love is raw and unrefined but for some ridiculous reason, some internal limiting belief, I’m not ALLOWED to do that kind of art. So I don’t or I do but I just don’t share it. . Time to change that. A dear friend reminded me that we are not ART machines. We make messes and take breaks and make mistakes and experiment and yes burnout too, yet I hesitate to share this side of the creative process for fear of looking foolish. Yet it is this process that is so vital to the act of creating. . So I may share more “imperfect” posts. A “perfect” feed is not really working for me...
Yeah...I’m kinda playing 😜 but I’m kinda serious. I think this is real! 😑 Ugh. Anyone relate? . Also, I should add, may cause sufferer to spend exorbitant amounts of time designing an IG post in an attempt to avoid making art...🙄
WIP. She’s coming along slowly...I’m studying the circle right now. Yes that sounds weird but it’s a powerful, harmonizing shape and I’m being drawn to it right now...so yeah...last night I practically ran into the studio, grabbed a nearby platter and began tracing circles onto this huge canvas! . Looks like some moon energy is coming out to play too. We will see where this goes. I might hate her in a few days! 😜😬🤦🏽‍♀️ . I’m definitely feeling a lot of flux going on internally. I keep posting things on social media and then deleting them. 😒😑Sometimes I just can’t tolerate the vulnerability... . I know you guys can relate. 😘
🍁Hello there!🍂 To all my North American friends, I wish you all a wonderful Thanksgiving! 🦃 I hope you all enjoy this festive time with family and friends! . To ✨ALL✨ of you - I wish you a beautiful weekend full of goodness and gratitude! I’m so very, very grateful for all the love and support! I feel so blessed to be in a world where I get to share my love of learning and creativity with you. . Thank you for being on this journey with me. 🙏❤️ . Sending you all my love! . Xo, Ivy
This. ❤️
Tonight my non dominant hand took the wheel...on a 40” x 30” canvas no less. She’s become quite bossy! 😉 . This one appeared in a tumble of swirling strokes. Willow charcoal. Smoky shadows. Hungry fingertips smudging and smearing, trying to mold the intangible. . Then the words came. Fast and unyielding. Needing to be caught on the page. . Confront yourself not other people. When you are triggered, When you feel anger, Or fear, Or hatred, Or judgement, Turn to yourself. Look in the mirror. Look yourself straight in the eye and ask WHY? . Now, more than ever, self reflection is vital. Vital. Life saving. World saving. Human kind saving. . Face what you don’t want to face. Unearth what is buried. Dig deeper than you’ve ever gone before. The truth lies in the darkness. . The shadows reveal our light.
Today, I had the delight of creating with this little guy from page 103 of my @colorflow_book ! I never usually create birds like this but it was so much fun! I love the deep earthy tones with that pop of red!😍 . I’ve always loved the belief that cardinals are messengers from the spirit world! . This special guy is dedicated to my dear Grandma Neyda who passed away this year.❤️ . I think there is something about the holiday season that reminds us of the ones we have lost.😔 . I always try and remember that their spirits live on and are so often walking beside us. ❤️🙏 . Sending love to you all. ❤️❤️❤️
Loved creating this sweet abstract landscape painting using inspiration from page 112 of my @colorflow_book ! It was good fun using colors that I never use and exploring a different way to create! 💜💗🧡💛 WATCH MY STORIES TO SEE MORE...
Sometimes a simple sketch is the best way to meditate. Time slips away and it’s just you and your pencil. ❤️✏️ . (This sketch was from a wonderful lesson at The Art of Sisterhood Retreat with the fabulous @laurenhr .)
Yeah. So this explains everything...😂🤷🏽‍♀️🌕
WIP...My painting called to me as I was half way down the stairs, a basket of laundry in my arms. It cares not of my chores or what it’s interrupting. . I obliged and met it in the studio. We stared at each other. I reached for my oil pastels and began to make marks with my non-dominant hand. Light pink, olive, burnt sienna, black. . Next, a large palette knife and soft blush acrylic paint. Then water. More scratching. Dripping. Rose colored shapes. Fingertips blurring the edges. . I backed away. To see what this had done. How the surface had changed. . I could see her now. Through the layers. Dark eyes. Long neck. Strong, yet delicate shoulders. A mirage in the shadows and mist. . She beckoned me to come closer. . Black china marker, left hand, flowing lines. Smoky charcoal. Deep set eyes and elongated nose. Lips. Chin. Neck. Heart. Light. Pouring out into the darkness. . A doorway. . I stood back again to see her becoming. . Then, I put down my brush and walked out of the room. . We were done for the day.
WIP- I have this canvas in my home studio. It’s 30” x 40” and it waits for my next move. It began as a large portrait but she was boring. 😬🙄 So I destroyed her. So satisfying... . Now it is this. A dripping, scrawling, murky, stormy mix. Tonight, I scraped on white and wrote words in black crayon. I sprayed it with water and scratched it with the end of a paintbrush. I watched it. I stood back and looked for faces in the inky layers, on the clouded surface. . And then I walked away. I’ll see where it leads me next...