Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about all of the ways I stay inspired.

Having fun and learning to let go have become essential to my creative process.

For me that means slowing down and keeping calm, reading in the sunshine, stepping outside at midnight to watch for shooting stars, doodling, taking long walks in the woods, having bonfires in the backyard, going barefoot in the grass, smelling the flowers and painting with friends.

My paintings always seem to fall into place whenever I stay in the moment and go back to anything that makes me feel joy.

Then, once I’m having fun, I can paint more clearly from that part of myself that is wholly me.

This video is one of the backgrounds we create for a project in Serendipity 2 – Loosening Up With Mixed Media.

In this 10 minute video I share one of my favorite techniques that I always return to whenever I need to get back to having fun with my artwork.

I love adding 2-3 different supplies in my backgrounds – mixing acrylic paints and inks together to get unusual colors that I then repeat throughout a painitng.

I can never paint what is in my head or paint something the way I did before. That takes all of the fun and freedom out of creating.

My images emerge like a dream, not just from the paint, but from my subconscious.

I have learned to go back to the techniques, characters and shapes I have loved most in my past paintings to move my new paintings forward. I’ve also learned to follow my inspirations, which seem to only come when I’m in that place of having fun.

The more I shed the idea that what I paint has to look like something else, the more my inspiration and creativity blossom, opening up and becoming something that is so much more from the center of my heart.

In my online classes, we layer all sorts of art supplies – oil paintsticks, watercolors, pastel, ink, acrylics, pencil, papers and pen. You’ll learn how to paint more freely, so you can easily develop your own style.

If you know someone who has been looking to find more joy, feel free to share this video with them (you can use the share buttons below).

Thank you for all of your love and support!

Happy painting!
xo, Juliette

Ps. If you want even more inspiration and insights into my creative process, plus art + free videos that I only share in my newsletter, sign up for my newsletter here.