The story behind the art

The story behind Heart Art Expressions

The journey in life, especially in creating, is rarely a straight line.

There are ups and downs, redoes upon redoes. Lost parts found and found parts lost. Yet what is at the true essence of something remains.

The journey to Heart Art Expressions is no different. Only looking back can I see the threads of it woven throughout the tapestry of my life.

When I first began in business, it was October. The holidays would be soon coming. I had few resources and even fewer clients. I decided to hand make them holiday cards. (This was long before things like Canva or cost-effective color printing.)

For years afterwards, even as my business grew, I handmade holiday cards.

One year I painted multiple abstract paintings and cut them up. Each person received a small piece of art. The message on each card was: “Within each heart lies the gift of art. Create JOY + PEACE for all.” (Pictured are the remaining cards.)

Although the cards are long gone and the clients have changed, the intention has always been an inspiration to me. It has served as a reminder that even though people may not exhibit joy or peace or love, to themselves or others, buried within them are the seeds of joy, peace and love, no matter how dormant.

At the time I wanted to create larger abstracts, but found my heart was not connected to them.

One summer I bought these beautiful colorful beans from a local farmers market. They were so fresh, they glistened from the heat of the morning and having just been picked.

I went home and took photos of them and deep within me a voice whispered, “this, paint this.” However, it took to being diagnosed as celiac in 2007 that my relationship with fresh fruits and vegetables changed and I was open to painting “this”. I saw healthy food in a whole new light and found reverence for them that I hadn’t had before. The bean painting, called Summer Harvest, was the first painting of my food art in a more distinctive style, and received awards in art shows.

The food paintings are abstract in composition yet realistic in execution. My intention was to express the beauty and spirit of the food as works of art. That the light within them exists within all things. I would always say I paint the light, yet what people most remarked on were the shadows. While it is about the light, there would be no light without the shadows. True in life as it is in art.

Eventually things evolved into a kids’ cookbook and product line called Fun Foodie Friends, where fun is the first ingredient in helping you make friends with your fruits and vegetables.

But then there was a bend in the road and life took a detour. I had a near-death experience saving someone from drowning. (Read more about that here.)

My partnership with Fun Foodie Friends blew up, as well as many other things in my life, and for the most part, I put my paintbrush down to heal and deal with life.

Today I feel like I am coming full circle. The intentions in the art are things I see and talk about when working with private clients as well as in my own life. I am more comfortable and trusting with intuitive abstract painting, allowing what wants to be expressed which can be whimsical and fun while being spiritual at the same time. And there is a joy in the art, and my life, that is more consistent.

In Scientific Hand Analysis, I am in the school of Love (and Service) and part of my life purpose is innovative artist in the spotlight. In Human Design/Gene Keys, I have an Open G Center, and my vocation is the pure heart – when on the master path of it.

Using the heart as a sacred symbol feels very aligned to my true design and soul purpose. Understanding and working with these insights has helped me heal deep unconscious patterns, allowing me to open my heart more, giving me the courage to create and share these.

Creating this art has been my response to the current energy in the world. Heart Art Expressions is my conscious choice to contribute the energy I want to experience and share in life. My intention is to allow the art to be a beacon of love, healing, and inspiration.

At the core essence of life, love is all there is. Or the absence of it. Choose love. Always.

Always choose love. 💖