New Recovery Prayer Magnets by Raphaella Vaisseau 30 Days of Get Your Art On - 9.26.11 (RV Day 8)

I spent my art creation time today (for my 30 Days of Get Your Art On commitment), creating new art for three great prayers of recovery. The most well know is The Serenity Prayer (right), which is celebrated around the world. Although I already have many versions of this beautiful prayer, I was inspired this morning to paint new art for a little 2x3 magnet.

The other two are less well known outside of the AA 12-Step Program. Both are shown here as 3x3 magnets. I painted all three prayers with wreathes of simple flowers and vines, to give the words plenty of room. Most of my Heartful Art is available for wholesale. You might also be interested to know that sometimes organizations arrange to bring my products to retreats and special events on a short-term consignment basis. Let me know if you have an upcoming event you'd like to discuss.

I make these recovery prayers as posters and matted prints as well as these magnets. Browse my main online store for many recovery slogans and inspirations. Words are powerful tools to assist us in getting through challenging situations and to support in reaching our goals. If you are in a 12-step program, these magnets make great gifts for sponsors, family, and friends.

With Summer behind us, we go forward into Fall. I understand that the autumn leaves are brilliantly colored up in the Northern US and along the Canadian border. I do miss Autumn. I long to get a whiff of fresh cool air of a northern fall day and hear the crunch of dry leaves underfoot as I walk. Perhaps next year. Although I do take one day at a time, I'm tentatively planning a visit to Minnesota a year from now, a trip which is long overdue. 2011 has been a fairly good year for me and Heartful Art, with steady improvement toward my goals. If things continue along this path of recovery (on many levels), I believe 2012 will be even better. I hope so. For me, and for you as well.
-Raphaella Vaisseau

Two Mixed Media Art Cards by Raphaella Vaisseau for 30 Days of Get Your Art On - 9.25.11 (RV Days 6 and 7)

What a week I've just finished! Big wholesale orders, new gallery possibilities, keeping up with inventory from dozens of consignment vendors, plus keeping my word to myself by doing 30 min of new art per day for the "30 Days of Get Your Art On" project.

I'm learning to do the creating new art thing in the morning, so I'm not blogging in my sleep. Leaving it to the end of the day has been challenging. Yesterday I couldn't do it first because Saturdays I am up at 5am to get to the Venice Farmers Market early and have my booth set up before daybreak.

So yesterday I fudged a little. I did my 30 minutes before the end of the day, but I did not stay up an extra hour to scan, post to Etsy, blog, and post links to facebook and twitter. I'm doing that now instead. My day of rest will have to wait a week, or at least until I ship the orders I'm still working on today (and tomorrow, and the next day). Nevertheless, I must say, even though this commitment has added a new pressure to my already pressured life as an artist, I'm loving the creative aspect of making new art every day.

I am gearing up to spending my 30 minutes a day on bigger paintings that have been sitting in various stages of creation in my studio for weeks. Some, I must confess, have been on my studio walls (and floor) for months.

Presenting two new ACEOs from Day 6 "Sticks" and Day 7 "Respect Women" of the 30 Days project. Click here to see all my original artist trading cards in my Etsy store. They are OOAK (one-of-a-kind) and when they're gone, they're gone. Maybe some day I'll start selling ACEO prints but for now, they are all original creations of art. They are the same size as a baseball card, 2.5" x 3.5" and they're affordable and adorable. Of course, they can be framed as wall art, but they're also collectable since artists from all over the world are creating them and selling them on Etsy. Browse the ACEtsy Street Team blog to discover more artists making art cards. Have fun. Buy art. Share it with others.
-Raphaella Vaisseau

My Brother's Birthday and 30 Days of Get Your Art On - 9.23.11 (Raphaella Vaisseau Day 5)

September 23, 1953 is the day my little brother was born. His name was Rick. Although remembering him is not exclusive to this day, every year on September 23rd, I celebrate his life.

For my 30 minutes of creating art today I continued working on the new grid I started a few days ago. I'll post it again when it's complete.

Meanwhile, here's a print of a flower I painted a decade ago. "Tiger Lily" seems like a nice remembrance flower for my sweet angel brother.
-Raphaella Vaisseau

Sun and Moon by Raphaella Vaisseau for 30 Days of Get Your Art On - 9.22.11 (RV - Day 4)

"Sun and Moon" is my latest ACEO (artist trading card). It represents my love for our earth, and our benevolent celestial bodies, the sun and moon. A continual source of wonder and amazement, I honor their place in our sky.
-Raphaella Vaisseau

THREE ACEO - 30 Days of Get Your Art On - 9.21.11 (Raphaella Vaisseau - Day 3)

On my third day of "30 Days of Get Your Art On" I am celebrating the number 3. Here's a little original art card that I painted today and named "THREE". It's watercolor on Fabriano watercolor paper and measures 2.5" x 3.5" in the ACEO tradition.

To me, the number three stands for expression. It represents a quest for discovery, an exploration, a constant learning, growing, and a commitment to experiencing the fullness of life. It teaches us to use what works for us, and let go of what doesn't. The quest it encourages is to keep true to one's path with the intention of knowing ("to know that you know that you know"). Knowing from that true place inside what is right and true for you - for each one of us.

I am more certain every day of something I wrote years ago: "It is in being true to myself that I am of most use to others. It is in expressing the joy of my own heart that I am open to hold and behold the hearts of others. It is in seeing my own beauty that I am able to experience the magnificence of others." - Raphaella Vaisseau

We each have our part to play in the dance of life. As we learn to be true to our own self-expression we gain strength to discover, develop, and express our spiritual gifts.
-Raphaella Vaisseau

30 Days of Get Your Art On - 9.20.11 (Raphaella Vaisseau Day 2)

Today is Day 2 of creating art for 30 minutes a day for 30 days (Get Your Art On). I'm using the same rules Traci Bunkers listed when she originated this project:

• I’ll make art every day for 30 days and post what I have done.
• I don’t have to finish what ever I’m working on that day, I just have to work on something.
• I have to work for 30 minutes, but can work longer if time permits. 
• It doesn’t matter what I do for the art making, as long as I work on art.
• I won’t feel guilty for taking the time to work on art and I won’t have to justify why I’m doing it.
• I don’t have to go into detail in my post about how I did anything or what tools, materials I used (unless I want to).

Years ago I made a similar commitment to myself when I agreed to write for publication for 60 minutes a day for 30 days. I wrote up a contract with myself, signed it, and did it. The distinction "for publication" was intentional so that in this hour I would work only on projects I planned to submit to publishers. Stream of consciousness writing or journaling did not count toward my 60 minutes. It was powerful. By the end of those 30 days I had redefined myself as a writer. I enjoyed doing it, I felt transformed in the process, and I loved keeping my word to myself.

In these 30 Days of Get Your Art On I have an inner distinction as well. I plan to use these 30 minutes a day for creating art outside of my normal activities as an artist in my company, Heartful Art. Integrity will be my guide.

As you can see in the picture, today's project is unfinished. It's a work in progress. I believe it is the beginning of a grid abstract, of which I've done many. (See some of them here.) I never know what direction my art will take me as I layer the paint, since I like to paint from my heart rather than from my head. I've never before photographed (or shared!) a project at this early stage of creation. It will be interesting to see how this painting births itself and how I feel about the transparency of the process. For now, it is good.
-Raphaella Vaisseau 

Raphaella Vaisseau joined the Creative Challenge of Traci Bunkers 30 Days of Get Your Art On - 9.19.11 (RV Day 1)

One thing leads to another. Never has that been more true than now with the internet. From the ACEO Etsy Street Team blog's latest post, I clicked on Ayala Art's link to see her little painting in her Etsy shop and explore her creations, thinking I might add an ACEO to my growing collection of originals.

From there I clicked over to Ayala's blog where I noticed the title of today's post as "my 17th day of 30" - which totally got me curious. I looked around the blog and saw a button for "30 Days of Get Your Art On - tracibunkers.com" - which I clicked on right away.

Voila! Enter the magical world of Traci Bunkers. So intrigued was I that 30 minutes later I was still roaming around in her site, amazed by her artistic expression and technical savvy. I wanted to play along with her and the other artists who are in the game. I signed up, put her button on my blog, and committed to 30 min/day for 30 days of creating art and posting it here. Then I got to work creating.

Here's the result of my Day 1: "Flower Magic" a 4x6 original watercolor painting matted in an 8x10 double mat (porcelain blue core over magenta). I felt the presence of faeries as I painted, and enjoyed the swirls, ease, and flow of the petals and leaves.

It feels so good to just create. To paint. To be a part of an artistic challenge. To give myself the gift of art.

-Raphaella Vaisseau