My colored pencil piece entitled Tree Of Healing

I created this piece years ago when I was in the process of healing from my trauma. While I was creating it, I felt like the tree above the soil; empty, alone and devoid of life. I had faith that things would get better, but I didn't know how long it would take. I reminded myself to be patient. Eventually, I began to feel like the roots of the tree. I was filled with God's love and found my purpose for living. Thus, this simple piece was born.

I have this drawing for sale on Fine Art America and Red Bubble.  Here is the description I created for this piece as seen on both sites:

To the parched soul, God's light brings healing and oneness.  The only way to wholeness and completion is being joined with God in His heavenly light and breath.  God shines His light upon us and it is up to our own individual discretion as to whether we receive Him or not.  Reception of Him grows in us strong roots of love.

If you are unfamiliar with my story, I have it written in my book Breaking The Silence.  It is a fictional account (because names and places have been changed) of my life.  It is true and it is what I experienced.  My art reflects the stages I've been through in my journey of healing.  I hope you enjoy this simple yet heartfelt piece.

Best wishes and blessings,

Diamante

My newest creation! Counteract Every Negative Thought!

Here is my most recent inspirational quote, brought on by some hard days that I've gone through. I made this quote to remind myself and to inspire others! The last few days (the last week, actually) has been tough. In order to counteract a bad attitude, I started stating a blessing or something I was grateful for in response to every negative thought that went through my head. It helped a lot!

If you know someone who is going through a tough time right now, feel free to share this quote with them. It will help to spark some positive energy in their heart and give them hope that tomorrow will be a better day!

Just remember...this too shall pass!

Where you can find Counteract Every Negative Thought:

Fine Art America:  http://fineartamerica.com/featured/counteract-every-negative-thought-diamante-lavendar.html

Red Bubble:  http://www.redbubble.com/people/diamantelavenda/works/21565110-counteract-every-negative-thought-by-diamante-lavendar?p=photographic-print

<a href="http://fineartamerica.com/shop/shower+curtains" style="font: 10pt arial; text-decoration: underline;">shower curtains for sale</a>

My newest creation: Eternity Is A Position!

Here is another piece of my graphic art. I created this piece to remind myself and others that eternity is a position. Eternity isn't a place we need to travel to. It's a place in our hearts, minds and spirits where we live. We can live there right now. That is how we attain enlightenment here...before we pass on!

Eternity is a place inside us and around us.  A place of love, wisdom, understanding, peace and laughter.  A place of light where we can truly be ourselves!

This quote along with all of my other artistic creations are available in hundreds of products on several different websites.  You can find them in home decor, apparel, gift items, stationery and more!

Enjoy!

Where you can find Eternity Is A Position:

Zazzle:  http://www.zazzle.com/collections/eternity_is_a_position-119095415019232286

RedBubble:  http://www.redbubble.com/people/diamantelavenda/works/21464941-eternity-is-a-position-by-diamante-lavendar?p=photographic-print

The March Lowdown!

Hi everyone! Here's what went on during the month of March! It was a pretty busy month!

As always, I'm very grateful to everyone who participated in my blog!  It's been a lot of fun expanding my reach to not only authors but also artists!  I've met and look forward to meeting a lot of fun and interesting people!

May you all remain prosperous, happy and healthy in the years to come!  I look forward to working with you on future projects as well!

Cheers!                                                                                                                                                             

Welcome to artist Brooks Garten Hauschild!

Welcome to Brooks Garten Hauschild! Winner of second place in my online contest with her beautiful work entitled Imagine!

Hello all!

I was born In New Orleans. I've lived and worked in southern Oregon since 1985. I've always been drawn to the creative side of life. I'm a photographer, visual artist, musician, writer/poet and designer of clothing, interiors, logos and gardens.

Primarily acrylic on canvas and pastel, my paintings range from figurative and representational pieces to flowing organic creations to things purely abstract. My work is described as 'emotion expressed with the language of color' and 'soul made visible'. My work is a combination of intuition and intention. Nature, music, love and life itself are my inspirations.

I've published a couple of my own poetry-photography collections and also created illustrations for several other authors. I'm honored to have my work featured in a variety of magazines. I travel the globe and have had exhibits in numerous galleries over the last thirty years.

You can find me at:

Website: http://brooks-hauschild.pixels.com . Google: https://plus.google.com/112777559723284005516 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/InspiringWordsOfWisdom/posts/10203931638045072

~My newest creation: Find Something To Laugh About!~

Life happens. It happens to all of us whether we're ready or not....kind of like playing hide and seek! We can try to hide, but life will seek us and hunt us down, taking us along for the ride!

My newest creation speaks of maintaining a sense of humor through it all. It's easy to have humor on good days. But it's also very important to have humor on bad days as well. Humor actually helps us through hardship and is essential in our well being.

This is a concept I've learned the hard way. Some of you know my story. Others of you aren't familiar with it. I wrote a book about it entitled Breaking The Silence. Through my life, I've learned that humor is a necessary element in healing and staying happy.

Please feel free to come back and visit again to read my quote. Or save it to your computer. I'd love to have it inspire you at times when you really need it.

Blessings, Diamante

Introducing Artist Ben Kotyuk!

Today I'm thrilled to introduce you to Ben Kotyuk, first place winner of my contest on Fine Art America for most creative inspirational art work!  His piece entitled I Want Some is a beautiful depiction of enlightenment!

Without further adieu, here is Ben's post!

As a child I always had a propensity for drawing and building things. At the age of twelve and with the help of an insightful teacher, I was enrolled in an art school. After two years of exploring various creative disciplines, I focused on package/product design.

Upon graduating, I went to work in a corporate art department. In those days, product design was not considered very important so it was begrudgingly handled as part of the advertising responsibilities. This meant I was also required to design ads and catalogs along with an array of promotional items.

For the next eleven years I moved between large corporations and small design studios where I handled product design projects. Slowly over time, the importance of package/product design became apparent and broke off as a speciality.

At that point, I left the corporation I was working for and opened my own design studio. For the next thirty-five years I did product, package and conceptual design for the cosmetic, fragrance and fashion industries world wide.

When I eventually retired, I needed a long overdue break from drawing and sketching which had been an intricate part of my work process. During the next six years I pursued other creative outlets and did not put pencil to paper.

As my life progressed, I began to feel a strong desire to draw and paint again but this time it would be just for me. I chose to work in pastel because it didn’t seem like a large leap from colored pencils which had previously been my presentation medium of choice (besides, I wasn’t thrilled at the prospect of cleaning brushes.)

In order to develop my pastel technique, I have mostly painted what is around me. All the objects, people and animals that are visually familiar.

I recently had a lot of fun doing graphic design and a few illustrations for a book I wrote last summer. I have never imagined myself as a writer yet for awhile, I was plagued by a recurring dream where a story unfolded.

One day my wife, Kelley said, “Why don’t you just write it down.” Well, I did and it became "Journal 97 The Case Notes Of E.R.Satz."

At the core of this strangely odd and most bizarre story, a theme on how people connect with each other emerges. It illustrates that through trust and dedication, an unexpected group of individuals come together for a common purpose to change their lives for the better. In the end, as fate would have it, everyone receives what is ultimately meant for them. The book presented big challenges and was a new outlet for my creativity.

On a final note, and in regards to my painting, “I Want Some” I would ask you, have you ever experienced a moment that took your breath away then seconds later tried to logically understand what just happened to you? Deep down you know it’s already too late because the more you try to find that feeling the further it slips away. That is how I felt when I saw the sun burst from behind a cloud one day, I literally gasp. I searched for that spot within myself, but the more I tried the further from my emotional reach it became. I wanted it to last, to retain some part of it in my being, but now it’s only a memory. “I Want Some” was an attempt to visually capture that moment in a way that could be shared.

You can find Ben's amazing work on Fine Art America where he has many wonderful pieces to share!  Thank you for being a guest on my blog, Ben!

The February Lowdown!

Hey everyone!  It's hard to believe, but February has come to an end already!  Two months into 2016!  The time is going fast! I'd like to shout out a big thank you to the talented artists and authors who participated in my blog during the month of February! It was great having you all as guests! May the coming months and year find you happy, healthy and prosperous!  Keep in touch! Cheers!

Present Days

As part of my artistic journey, I've created a vast number of quotes about things I've learned to live by or things I've learned from. I'll be including my quotes in the art spectrum of my blog.

This particular quote is entitled Present Days. I wrote it while in an enlightened state of mind. It is a reminder to me to enjoy the present moment because it is quickly gone into the past where it can never be re lived.

As citizens on this planet, it is so easy to get caught up in the physical moments of life. We have a tendency to forget our true nature as we engage in this worldly reality. I have come to learn that it is imperative to remember our nature as we go through our daily situations. Only then can we truly live and enjoy the things we experience in each moment of each day.

It is my hope that this quote will remind all of us to stop and reflect on the brief passage of each minute in life. As the moments culminate, years go by and soon we are asking ourselves where the time went. Enjoy every minute because life is precious and fleeting!

Namaste!

Where you can find Present Days:

Red Bubble:  http://www.redbubble.com/people/diamantelavenda/works/14126321-present-days-become-days-past-by-diamante-lavendar

Fine Art America:  http://fineartamerica.com/featured/present-days-become-days-past-diamante-lavendar.html

Some of the available products:

Meet Patsy Gunn! An artist of integrity!

I'm beginning a new spectrum of my blog!  Every now and then I'll be featuring an artist!  It is my belief that creativity in all forms is a gift that needs to be revered and shared.  It is also my belief that we are all endowed with forms of creativity to share with the world.  And I embrace that concept here on my blog!  So this is the first page in my journey of featuring artists and their work!

Today I'm very excited to introduce you to Patsy Gunn! I've known Patsy for a while now. She is part of my art group, Emotive Art, on Fine Art America. She's also a friend of mine on facebook. Patsy is a warm, kind hearted person and also a talented artist of integrity!

Patsy writes:

Hello everyone! I am a visual artist and primarily use drawing as the foundation of my compositions because of its elemental nature. To inspire my greatest creativity I walk, preferably in nature. The act of wandering and drawing depictions of life comes naturally to me and I believe this is because it is part of our human heritage that dates back to the Paleolithic period. Using graphite as my base, additionally I work with pen and ink, charcoal and pastels, gouache and acrylic. Each of these mediums has a distinct quality which allows me to express the various feelings of human existence, such as, spiritualism, enthusiasm, bliss, melancholy, subtleness, and so on. It is the intertwining of these sensations with a subject that speaks to me.

I am often asked how long I have been an artist, and I generally say I was born an artist! This is because, looking back to my earliest memories from my childhood I somehow always knew that art and life were deeply intertwined in a such a way that I could not think of one without the other. I understand this interweave of art and life today as the inherent human flow of creativity into life. In all forms, it is a gift from the Universe that has, and continues, to aid human progression as well as our survival.

My artistic journey began at the age of six when I received my first set of pencils and a sketchbook. At this point in my life, this simple gift made me feel jubilant in the knowing that I could go anywhere I wanted to in my imagination. Although this is a blissful memory for me, my most joyous moment happened many years later when I discovered I could capture pieces of life with images and imbue them with the sensations of life. On my artistic journey today I continue to experiment with techniques that will aid in bringing forth the feelings that are present in life, because for me art is life.

Over time I have been influenced by many visual artists, but my favoritism falls to the Great Masters of the Early and High Renaissance period, such as, Brunelleschi, Ghiberti, Donatello, Michelangelo, and Leonardo da Vinci. This is because this era of artists through the use of various mediums, styles, and symbolism interwove pieces of life, sensations, and secrets, into each composition, and this for me is humbling. Additionally, I favor some of the twentieth century artists, such as, Van Gogh, Rodin, Picasso, and Matisse. My painting Gravity, which I share with you today, was inspired by Henri Matisse’s painting, The Dance II. In Matisse’s painting, I observed how his use of color and fluid movement brought forth significant sensations that illustrate the processes of the human body as one interweaves with diverse currents of life impulses. Likewise, in my rendering of Gravity my use of color and movement demonstrates the interconnectivity of all living things being embraced by the dynamic rhythms of Earth and the heavenly atmosphere. If you are interested in learning more about this, Glen A. Mazis, in his book earthbodies, captures the profound meaning of Matisse’s painting as he discusses the unified interconnection of humans with the dynamic rhythms of the earth and the cosmos.

To all artists, whether poet, musician, writer, or visual artist, I believe we are all spirits having a human experience, and that being gifted with an artistic talent brings to each of us a responsibility. The responsibility lays in the fact that our creative endeavors may have a strong influence on humanity. So as we make art, I feel we must use our gifts in a way that is respectful to our interconnection to all others, the Earth and all its inhabitants. In my opinion, doing this is, and has always been, the artist’s way to contribute to the blissful preservation of humanity.

Where you can find Patsy:

Fine Art America:  http://fineartamerica.com/artists/patsy+gunn

Website:  http://www.arttatouille.com/

My drawing entitled Shadows

This is an older piece I created many years ago when I was having trouble with flashbacks stemming from my abuse. One day I sat down and began to create this piece as I was suffering.

It's meaning: Memories are like shadows in our minds. The good memories remind us. The bad memories haunt us. Our lives are filled with many different memories. They shape who we are. How we allow them to affect us is our own decision.

I wrote a book about my life entitled Breaking The Silence. It is a story of my torment and agony but also a story of my hope and healing. Sexual and psychological abuse is extremely difficult to deal with. The emotions that it creates threaten to destroy the victim's life. Breaking The Silence is my story about how I went from victim to over comer. It is my hope that everyone who has suffered as I have will find the courage to recover after reading my story.

Shadows is my physical depiction of a small piece of that torment and hidden hope.  If you know someone who has suffered from abuse, show them this piece.  They will probably be able to identify deeply with it.

Where you can find Shadows:

http://www.redbubble.com/people/diamantelavenda/works/14126123-shadows-by-diamante-lavendar?grid_pos=1&p=sticker

http://fineartamerica.com/featured/shadows-diamante-lavendar.html

Products made with Shadows:

The January Lowdown!

Hello everyone! Today I'd like to take a moment to thank all the wonderful authors who participated in my blog during the month of January!  It was a very busy and prosperous month!

I am grateful to all of you for bringing interest and diversity to my blog!  It was great working with you and even better getting to know you!  I hope this post finds you happy and well!

If you're reading this post and would like to know more about the featured artists or the art work I pictured above, just go to "reviews/promos" under the blog tab to look up the authors or go to "art" under the art site tab to locate what you're interested in!

Serenity by Diamante Lavendar

 

Today I'm posting one of my older pieces. It is entitled Serenity. I drew this abstract piece with colored pencils.

I titled this piece Serenity because I drew it from a place of serenity. Serenity is a special place within our hearts where anything is possible. It is the site of origin...the center of our being. Serenity is a space within us that connects with Divine presence; a place where we truly know exactly who and what we are.

We all crave serenity. It is actually a need created in us to commune with Divinity. When we don't have serenity, we feel the emptiness and the loss in our lives. To fill that empty space is what we yearn and search for. However, all we really need to do is connect with the love within! Then Divinity begins to fill the emptiness with the beautiful energy of love, compassion and peace! Thus serenity blooms and grows along with a sense of purpose and fulfillment!

Products made with my drawing Serenity:

Where you can find my drawing Serenity on hundreds of fun products:

http://www.redbubble.com/people/diamantelavenda/works/15389424-serenity-by-diamante-lavendar?grid_pos=3&p=sticker

http://fineartamerica.com/featured/serenity-diamante-lavendar.html

Addictions by Diamante Lavendar

This is one of the first art pieces I posted online.  It is a colored pencil work entitled Addictions.

This is a personal piece for me since I struggled under the weight of addictions for years. Substance abuse was the way I coped with the pain I endured as a child...a very ineffective coping mechanism indeed!

I used dark colors to depict the weight and the pain that addictions have on our souls.  It is a heaviness and a darkness that can only be known by a fellow addict.

Addictions have a debilitating effect on the psyche and spirit of a person.  They deaden our senses and dull our perceptiveness.  We see the world through different eyes...many times eyes of apathy and depression when we are living under the weight of our addictions.

I created this drawing to bring awareness to the fact of the pain that addictions bring to life. Many times we believe they are a means of escape when in reality they are a road to destruction.  It is my hope that this drawing will bring to light the devastation addictions cause in the lives of those who suffer.

Here are some of the products created with my drawing entitled Addictions:

This piece can be found and purchased in many different items at these locations:

Red Bubble:  http://www.redbubble.com/people/diamantelavenda/works/14031947-addictions-by-diamante-lavendar?grid_pos=8&p=sticker

Fine Art America:  http://fineartamerica.com/featured/addictions-diamante-lavendar.html

Zazzle:  http://www.zazzle.com/collections/addictions_by_diamante_lavendar-119037889821001092

To Dish Or Not To Dish by Diamante Lavendar!

A humorous quote about life! Also a great quote for any cook you might know!

This is my fun way of saying "Be yourself! Enjoy your life!" We all have our own unique talents and abilities so we need to share them with the world! If we don't, nobody will ever know our strengths and contributions! So don't be shy! Step out and be who God made you to be! This world can be a better place just because you're in it!

I originally designed this piece to be similar to Just Dishy because I was going to create dishes with both designs together. But then I decided to keep them separate. So take your pick! Whichever one tickles your fancy is just fine!

Here are some cute products made with To Dish Or Not To Dish:

There are hundreds of products to choose from in this design as with all of my designs.

You can find all sorts of things made from To Dish Or Not To Dish here:

http://www.redbubble.com/people/diamantelavenda/works/19449511-to-dish-or-not-to-dish-by-diamante-lavendar

http://fineartamerica.com/featured/to-dish-or-not-to-dish-diamante-lavendar.html

http://www.zazzle.com/collections/to_dish_or_not_to_dish_by_diamante_lavendar-119339415280644997

Just Dishy, one of my graphic art pieces!

This is a fun piece I created just because I love purple, pink and red combined!  I made this graphic art into numerous creations on Zazzle, Fine Art America and Red Bubble.  I actually had people who enjoyed cooking in mind when I came up with this piece.  But it's really cute as apparel, bath items, bedding and much more!

Here are some of the cute things made with this design:

This design is quite functional in reminding you to keep an element of fun and humor in your life!  It is my hope that this design will do just that for many people in the years to come!  We all need elements of brightness and gaiety in our lives.  Here is the perfect reminder!

Where you can find Just Dishy products:

http://www.redbubble.com/people/diamantelavenda/works/19902178-just-dishy-by-diamante-lavendar?p=throw-pillow

http://fineartamerica.com/featured/just-dishy-by-diamante-lavendar-diamante-lavendar.html

http://www.zazzle.com/collections/just_dishy_by_diamante_lavendar-119101096784192198

My New Painting Entitled 'Celebration!'

I painted this piece to commemorate a child's birthday. Since I do create a good amount of art, I've decided to include each new piece in my blog. That way my followers can get a more well rounded perspective of me as a "creator"...of the written word as well as of my artistic expression!

I used acrylic paints for this piece and kept them bright to capture the essence of a child's birthday. I do enjoy bright colors when I'm painting! I also used childlike shapes and forms to further expand upon the consciousness of a child.

Due to the fact that this piece is for sale, my name has been superimposed upon the painting. This piece is approximately 17 in. x 25 in.  Prints are available if anyone would like to purchase them.  Of course, the prints would not have my name on them, except to be signed in a small, unobtrusive area.  If you would happen to be interested, please message me.  Thank you and enjoy!

This piece is available for sale on Red Bubble, Fine Art America and Zazzle.  It has been made into many creations from apparel to dishes to phone/laptop covers to bedding.  Check it out at any of the following links:

http://www.redbubble.com/people/diamantelavenda/works/20011530-celebration-by-diamante-lavendar?grid_pos=9&p=sticker

http://fineartamerica.com/featured/celebration-diamante-lavendar.html

http://www.zazzle.com/collections/celebration-119379947631620656