2018 Word of The Year

Happy (belated) New Year! I’m off to a slow start creatively due to the day job being pretty busy for 2017 year end. I have so many projects that I can’t wait to work on though! Mostly the same of what I have been doing- collage, sketchbook, painting, and I’d like to add more art journaling.

So how did I do with my 2017 word, which was ”present”? Overall I did pretty well! I definitely took the time to slow down and really enjoy my surroundings more often. I could do better with looking at social media less, but Instagram is just so addicting! Spending less time on social media is an ongoing goal.

I came to my word for 2018 after I did the Courage Counsel webinar series hosted by Dionne Thompson of In Her Element. I really enjoyed digging deep into the items she covered such as 2017 accomplishments, key people who help and inspire me, reframing, and the decisions I make that will positively impact 2018. We came up with our power word, which I am using as my word for 2018 and my word is “Confident”. I have struggled with this for most of my teen and adult life and it’s time to step up for myself and have confidence. Confidence in my job, confidence in my art side hustle, and confidence in whatever else I do.

So there you go, let’s make it a good year and happy creating!

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Instagram Favorites Vol. 2

Back for Volume 2! Check out Volume 1 right here.

@jaquifalkenheim 's sketchbook makes me want to go paint and get a little messy. Via #carveouttimeforart

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Saturday Studio experiments ⚗️ #study

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Katie Holland Art Online Shop Relaunch!

I am so happy to announce that after a hiatus, my online shop is back! I chose to move it to my own page here at KatieHolland.com. Make sure to check out the shop because there are two brand new paintings in there- Simplicity Considered #1 and #2

I wanted to share the inspiration for these paintings. I am a collector of various vintage ephemera and while looking through a drawer the other week I found the below sewing pattern packaging. I was immediately drawn to the women on the cover and was also stuck on two paintings that I had in progress and knew that this was what I needed to add. In my style, I worked with adding the outlines of the neck and head to the canvas in a dark grey acrylic paint with a liner brush. It now felt finished. As for the hexagons- one day while at my desk I thought that hexagons would make a great background pattern and I drew one on a post it and hung that above my desk. I kept it there a few weeks until I started these paintings. So satisfying to see ideas come together! I hope you enjoy the new work!

Home Studio Inspiration

As I mentioned in my last post we are moving in about a week and a half and while moving sucks, I LOVE nesting. I am always looking to maximize space with organization techniques to make the most of a small home office/studio. 

I wanted to share some inspiration I found online, I definitely noticed some trends of what draws my eye! 

I notice that what draws my eye is an organized chaos. I appreciate the minimalist aesthetic but it's just not for me. I have a good amount of stuff and I like it to at least look organized and have its own place. I like wall shelving since there is only so much floor space in a small room that I also share with Scott's desk. Having art and other various imagery and inspiration hanging where I can easily see it is also important to me. I'll take a moment to sit back in my chair to think and I always enjoy looking at the art hanging nearby.

We'll see how the new space turns out! I'll take pictures and share once it's set up. It won't be magazine pretty like these images above, but it will be my space!  For more of my inspiration follow me on Pinterest.