Laura Hollick – soul artist, model, dancer, radio personality, writer, owner of the Soul Art Studio, spiritual teacher, featured on the cover of magazines, vibrant soul, inspirational… and so much more! This is why when she asked to interview me, I was so excited, honored… AND NERVOUS!!! (more…)
Bamboo, plum blossoms and orchids are very popular subjects in Japanese art. In addition to their obvious beauty, each plant symbolizes particular human characteristics. (more…)
Chō (Butterfly)
Have you ever had a moment in your life where you’re 210% at peace? I’m talking about the type of serenity that makes you feel like you’re living in a dream and nothing in this world could bring you down. This happened to me when I was 11 years old, almost 20 years ago, and this experience has influenced my art ever since.
Tonbo (Dragonfly)
I was at the family cabin, which is deep in the woods and about 40 feet from a lake shared by only a couple cabins. My dad and a few others built this cabin with their own hands and there’s no electricity or anything too luxurious in it. I always believed that the purpose of this cabin is to get away from the hustle and bustle of ordinary life and to find tranquility in nature.
That day, the only people around for miles were me and my parents. Only a few clouds were in the sky and the sunlight was intense. I remember the breeze saving us from the summer heat. My mom and dad were happily drinking their tea on the balcony overlooking the lawn and the lake.
I decided that I would go fishing while relaxing on the wharf my dad had built. On my way to the lake, fishing pole in hand, I clearly remember tiny wild flowers scattered on the lawn. A few butterflies were fluttering around, like they were welcoming me to paradise. I took my time walking to my destination. I wanted to soak in the summer day as much as possible.
Buy the Bushidō - Samurai Print
Bushidō means “The Way of the Warrior”, the unwritten code of conduct for the samurai warrior of ancient Japanese, and includes:
Gi – Justice
Yū – Bravery
Jin – Benevolence
Rei – Politeness
Makoto – Veracity
Meiyo – Honor
Chūgi – Loyalty
Buy the 7 Codes of Bushidō Print
To some extent, the Bushidō code is similar to the concept of chivalry.
I find this balance between violent behavior and honor fascinating. Even though we’re now in the 21st century, the Bushidō Code can still guide us in managing conflicts and living an authentic life.
Too often, I’m quick to equate violence with revenge and protecting your own honor; which sounds ridiculous because how can anyone take your honor unless you hand it over to them yourself? When the words violence, conflict and war come to mind, I habitually think of violence originating from hatred, revenge and corruption. Running through my mind are thoughts of gangs, school bullies and abusive parents (just to name a few). (more…)
Buy the Tengoku (Heaven) Print
I was watching a webcast video on Oprah.com called Finding your spiritual path. Elizabeth Lesser, author of The Seeker’s Guide and Broken Open, said something early on in the webcast that really caught my attention.
Elizabeth says that our soul is something that we come into life with and that it’s always with us. She adds, “[our soul is] shining in our hearts”.
She uses the metaphor of a lantern to represent our psyche and our body, and the light within the lantern to symbolize our soul. Elizabeth explains that our lantern can get covered by soot (layers of conditioning). Negative emotions, such as fear, mistrust and anger, put soot on our lantern. As a result, the light of our soul becomes dull. (more…)
Buy the Seika (Sacred Fire) Print
Ever had one of those days where everything seems to be going wrong? Well, today was my day.
It started out early this morning with a migraine. I could hardly sleep with the nauseating pain and I was really counting on a good night’s sleep since my energy seems to be missing in action lately.Everything went downhill ever since.
Here’s some math for you…
Sleepless Night + Soniei + A Pinch of Migraine Leftovers = Miss Grumpy Pants
My day was so bad that I was thinking, “I’m gone to bed. I can’t deal with today anymore”. Satisfied with my decision, I got up from my desk and accidentally spilled a glass of water all over my Japanese lesson notes. Nice. Great. Terrific. After I cleaned up the mess, I was on my way to crawl into bed and hide from today for awhile. (more…)
I hardly have enough time to breathe as is. I work 80-120 hours a week as a painter just to make ends meet.* I spend so much time in my art studio that I frequently get emails from my family and friends to see if I’m still alive. Every second of my life is pretty much booked solid and I just decided to start learning Japanese again. Wait… what!?!
I must be crazy!! What I really need is to catch up on sleep!
I used to know some Japanese while living in Japan. However, a decade has passed without me hearing or speaking the language, so I pretty much lost the language. The only thing I kept up was my practice of Japanese calligraphy (Zen Brushworks) **.
Since my memories of Japan are still vivid in my mind and this country is one of the greatest influences in my art, it only makes sense that I study its culture and language once again. Although I’m currently way too broke to visit Japan, I hope my studies will help me bring more depth into my art. After all, I’m always looking for ways to make my artwork undergo an evolution. (more…)
This is, by far, one of my favorite artists’ websites! I’m beyond happy that I’ve been featured on EmptyEasel.com!
From painting tutorials to marketing your own artwork online, this website has so many interesting and informative articles for artists. (more…)
I’m so excited to announce that I’ve been picked for the Fine Art Registry’s (FAR) featured artist of the month and got another article written about me!
The article, Serene Inspiration by Georgianna Lane, is about how I became a full-time artist, where I get the inspiration for my paintings, how I use the FAR system and different websites to market myself, and much more! (more…)
At this very moment, my favorite paints to use are artist grade Liquitex acrylic paints (super high viscosity). I prefer to use the super heavy body types, but sometimes I need the soft body paints, depending on what I’m trying to achieve in a painting. I tend to go for soft body when using white or black. (more…)
