Art Of Tracy Verdugo Blog

2017, a year to reflect and replenish..... so here we go my sweet creative friends and family..... Many of you know me well enough by now to know that I am not one for brief recaps.  Some of my annual recaps go on and on and on, but this year, I am resolving to put it all in a nutshell, or at least a tiny glimpse of it in a nutshell. **please read all the way to the bottom to enter my end of year giveaway. There are 10 spots in my upcoming Face Fascination class up for grabs AND an original painting!! After the intensity of last 2016 (you can catch up here ), my journey through breast cancer and subsequent treatment, I made the decision to take things way easier than I have done for the past five years. I soaked in numerous bubble baths  Spent more time playing games, even when obstacles presented themselves took myself on lots of walks to the beach  looking for love in all the right places  and...

“We do not grow absolutely, chronologically. We grow sometimes in one dimension, and not in another; unevenly. We grow partially. We are relative. We are mature in one realm, childish in another. The past, present, and future mingle and pull us backward, forward, or fix us in the present. We are made up of layers, cells, constellations.”  ―  Anaïs Nin Change can be subtle, imperceptible. We set our intentions for how we would like things to be and sometimes without knowing it we even set intentions for how we would like things not to be. I've been getting very clear around the kinds of intentions I shoot out to the Universe these past few years and for the most part, I feel in alignment with my highest self. Sometimes it feels like I'm plodding along, making small moves, some deliberate, some tentative or unsure. Like the day I took myself on an artists date and lined up these rocks all the way to the waters edge, just because I could. Weeks later I ...

Oh dear!! Really?? It's been three days since I was here? What to do?? Well I guess I'll just have to share a little of what I've been up to and give you all three days of gratitude in one  and briefly cos' it's 6.40pm and I'm on dinner! My homemade veggie burgers if you'd like the recipe! And besides if I don't get out to that glass of vino soon Luna may just beat me to it!  So yesterday mi amor and I sprawled out on the lounge room floor and brainstormed ALL of the possibilities for 2018 and believe me there were a LOT!!  Beautiful people all over invite me to come teach in their lovely spaces and towns and I wish I could say yes to everyone but the bottom line is I'm learning (especially this year) that sometimes I have to say no. I know that many of you have my back and I get so many messages making sure that I'm not overdoing things and that I'm practicing self care.  So here I am checking in with you...

Dear amazing friends and family, A very small post today , not because I have not much to be grateful for but because, since I started this challenge i've been finding myself more and more steeped in gratitude in every small unfolding moment. That's how it works you see. It's a universal law. Whatever you focus on expands So today I am grateful that yesterday I took a day off from blogging AND enjoyed a gorgeous Sunday with mi amor.  And today I am grateful for our home, a true labour of love over the past 20 years and the masterpiece of the man I love. Let me tell you a very short story Once upon a time there was a man and his wife and their two very cute daughters who wanted to find a home to call their own. They didn't have much money so they scrimped and saved and found an old house near the beach that had good bones and a lot of potential. For ten years they did little bits and pieces when they could afford to, a splash of paint...

Today Facebook reminded me that it has been exactly five years since I took the giant leap towards quitting my day job as a teachers aide in Special Ed and transitioning from a small town after school art class teacher to teaching my workshops and retreats all over this gorgeous world! I am over the moon grateful for this and still pinch myself regularly to make sure that its real! On this weekend five years ago I taught my very first Paint Mojo workshop!!! A small group of us gathered in a local barn to paint, explore and share stories. It was low key, I was super nervous and not really sure of myself but I gave the best that I had at the time. Since then I have taught over 100 in person workshops around this beautiful planet, the best part of which has been meeting, communing and creating with so many gorgeous, amazing and inspiring souls!! My heart is so full when I think about each and every one of you and how far we have come together and how much amazi...