Art Of Tracy Verdugo Blog

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...

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...

Hey there lovebugs. Listen closely. Wanna know a secret? Creativity is a gift and I am so grateful for it. But it's not a gift just for a select few. It's our birthright, every SINGLE one of us and we are finding our way back home to it every time we choose to bring something new to the world. When we dare to try new things envision new outcomes let go of old patterns and belief systems This week has been pure delight with lots of hours in my studio, and elephants and owls flying and stampeding in and out as fast as I can paint them.  I've felt in flow in every way and for that I am truly thankful. At the end of a studio session on Wednesday evening I picked up one last piece of watercolor paper and made some different marks. The paper was not completely blank as Bella had decided, the day before, to put her little paw into some wet teal paint on my palette and go for a meander across my table....

“Hello, sun in my face. Hello you who made the morning and spread it over the fields...Watch, now, how I start the day in happiness, in kindness.”  ―  Mary Oliver   Hello, hello my beautiful creative friends and seekers!!  I've missed you!  Have you missed me? It seems like eons since I used to check in regularly here and I've been feeling the call to recommit to this space, to our shared experience, to our community of curious wonderment. Most of you know that last year was a big one for me,  and that this year I am taking things a little easier,  spending time taking more care of myself,  so that I can continue to do the work I value so much in the world,  taking care of the creative souls of those whose paths intertwine with mine. For those of you who may have missed my 2016 adventures it was definitely a doozy and I am soooooo grateful to be back on the path to wellness.  Here's...

Well hello, hello  my intrepid, awesome, beautiful family and friends!   Happy holidays and much love, peace, connection,  joy AND a plethora of all good things your way, as we head rapidly towards a brand new year!! I know some of you may have begun to think that I had fallen off the edge of the blogosphere and others have been following along with my topsy turvy 2016 journey on Instagram and Facebook, sending so much love and support my way, that I have spent the better part of my year utterly astonished and grateful for this tribe that I belong to so intrinsically. I'm going to keep this recap post MUCH shorter than previous years. Not because it has been any less incredible but because I am partially on a PAUSE and that means tending to my own self care and stepping back a little from the crazy pace I have set for myself these past few years. As usual though, my favorite part of writing this end of year post is that I get to host a GIANT GIVEA...