Art is...?

Art is? The ultimate question in creativity and the ultimate trap! As the Art Sherpa being a guide into the world of creativity I have to help re-born artists avoid the pitfalls of painting. These mistakes are not ones made on a canvass but in fact are painted in the heart. If you look in your heart we can find your art is one of my favorite guiding ideals. How you create and how you feel about what you have made are very likely two different things. I wish for all new artists that they avoid caparison all together it is the killer of joy. The point of being creative is to return to a full sense of joy. Painting fills a void that no Car, Boat, or big screen TV can fill. It puts meaning into the mundane everyday. In fact if you want to see proof of that check out the daily painters. Often they paint the most impossibly ordinary items but through the filter of their creative souls come the greatest magic. Carol Marines Lightbulbs are proof of this. "Art is whatever fills your soul up". Thats why it can not really be pinned down the way people want it to be. The painting that speaks to me may not speak to you. If you are painting, by the very act of listening to that creative inner voice, it is good.  You are good and valid as is your art. Art is YOU!

All Seeing Owl Painting Lesson Step by step beginner Halloween Art Tutorial

Colorful Owl painting lesson for beginners a fun online easy how to tuto...

We reached out to the viewers and engaged them to vote on their favorite owl for the next lesson. Then the best thing happened they did! Lots of votes came in ,it was neck in neck, and in the end we had no choice but to film BOTH owls. O RLY?!!! Yes it is what we did. This however has been the most fun for an edit in the studio ever. Right now my husband does my edits and its hard to get him to be able to sit down with him having a real job and all. But when he does it is amazing what he can do. First of all he loves to laugh with me. He sees the moments when I am being goofy and silly. He just frames then with cut scenes. There have been some great video moments in this lesson.



When you are doing free online step by step tutorials   you are in some competitive space on You Tube. So much content is uploaded a second it is hard to float up above the noise. Having a great message and idea to share has helped. But I think its Hart Party's Production value that tips the scales. We just care so much here about what we are doing and who is watching. I know how hard it can be to pick up a brush if you have not in a while and dare to believe you have art inside you. I know that for you this is a big deal. I have loved hearing from the viewers and reading their art stories. I love seeing the artwork. As The Art Sherpa it matters how I bring you these lessons. Because it matters that you have the best chance possible to paint. These are free with no ads for a reason. So that there is nothing between you and your best chance at having a great time painting. We spend time doing the crazy work editing so you can have a laugh and remember it is just art. When I opened my heart to let in my art I let all of you in and I am so glad I did. It is a privilege to share this journey with you



Love Cinnamon Cooney

Amanda's Story

I woke up to check on all the Hartist updates when I came across Amanda's Story. I think a lot about the things art helps us to do. It helps us accept, laugh, grow, connect, create, imagine, dream, and Amanda reminded me grieve. Art helps us not only celebrate the best moments of our lives but it allows us to make sacred the saddest moments. What Amanda did with my Tutorial for Spirit really moved me and touched my heart. She has agreed to allow me to share her story so that someone else could be helped by it. I feel blessed and honored by her open heart. I hope that all who need this message find it and the healing it would bring.

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  May 19

  Amanda Williams

  • Hi Cinnamon,
    I have recently started to paint after about 3 years of paper crafting and I thought I would try one of your tutorials for beginners. I never realized how personal this would get.. I watched the spirit horse video multiple times but didn't quite have the confidence to try it. After visiting my grandfather last night who was ready to die, I knew that painting this horse would give me some sense of relief. I am so glad I did! He passed away last night but now I have something to look at that reminds me of him. So thank you, art matters in my life and it helps to repair my broken heart.
    Here is my spirit horse, I know my grandfathers spirit is now free to run as fast as the wind will carry him!
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  May 19

  Cinnamon Cooney's Hart Party

  • Amanda your story touched my heart so much and so deeply. I am grateful that you shared this with me. I am deeply sorry for your loss but so moved by your painting and its deep spiritual meaning. I think this may help others and would love to share your story and painting. But only with your comfort and permission. You have inspired me! I truly hope you will continue painting. Please stay in touch and let me know how its going
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  May 19

  Amanda Williams

  • Thanks Cinnamon,
    I give you my permission to share my story because it may help someone else see that creating is a wonderful way to release pain, to show that unlike any other creature God has given us the ability to create wonderful things!!! Bless you and I will definitely stay in touch! I look forward to trying some more of your paintings..

  

  
  

Art Studio work space as Sacred

Work space as Sacred is not a unique idea in traditional business around the world. Walk into a power players office and you know who you are dealing with and where you stand. They accept the necessity of a well designed office as theater. It is where everything important happens so make no mistake you are walking into a temple. Pay close attention and you will quickly find the alter of the room. However how does a mom with kids create a space that reflects how divine the act of art is. Perhaps you are not making 6 figures with your work. Perhaps is is something wholly necessary but not profitable, Something people in America have a hard time really dealing with. Add the mom guilt and thats a tremendous amount of shame where only light and love should be. I know singles have a similar struggle as the pressure to push forward in career surges like Mavericks. Hard to justify the space, the money, and the effort to stage the studio. However just like a well set dinner table stages the ambiance of the party a well kept and appointed workspace set the tone of the work. When I paint I am giving back to myself a sense of being whole and real. I feel my connection to things that are divine and creative and feel that ever present love. I must honor the holy nature of the work and the process of working. I know I do not do this alone or at least thats my deep feeling. I feel the concert of that which is greater than me calling me to higher purpose. Yes even for the silly fun work. So I add a little theater to my workspace. Fill it with items and things that are pleasing to my soul. I clean there more often then I clean other things. Sadly I  can not get the feeling of the sacred in the giant pile of clothes waiting to be washed. I am sure its there and I have not felt it yet. My point is that the things that fill our souls are our churches. They do not have to be built by other people they just must the be the conduit of love,hope, and joy. Where ever you feel blessed and connected!

Tree Painting with a Twist beginner art lesson acrylic online tutorial w...

Tree painting with a Twist is up and ready for viewing. The obvious twist here is the stained glass feeling and the drips. There is a secret twist. I am excited for people to do this painting because I know what trees mean in the creative process. They are challenging and rewarding, because almost everyone has had a relationship to at least one tree. Some trunk has been witness to life's ups and downs. At somewhere along the way everyone has laid in the ground and starred up through the branches at a blue sky and DREAMED. I had a willow by a stream when I was growing up. It had large rocks to sit on and iris's planted around the base. I sat there daily and imagined all the amazing places my life might go when I grew up. I told stories to no one and sang songs to frogs. A true Judgement free Zone.

This personal painting party needs YOU to be that, a judgement free zone. When we all do this Step by Step painting lesson together I want YOU to be kind to you. The way that beautiful spiritual tree in your heart was kind to you. Listen, allow, and grow with out tearing yourself down. The biggest obstacle  to a new artist is the internal criticism. When I am teaching a class 80% is you fell your doing just fine and 20% is how to paint the painting. The reason is people are the least forgiving of themselves. I want you to be like my willow tree, silent, steady, and comforting. As long as you stay on the painting journey and don't give up you will find an inner artist. The sooner you can embrace today, except that you are in process of becoming more creative everyday  the better artist you will be. Today is wonderful and tomorrow will be better! This gift I am sharing with you will be one you unwrap all your life. Just accept that there is more to you! More than you know, more than your family knows, and more then your friends know. No matter when you pick this artful habit up there will be more! Shel Silverstien knew something very important tree's are giver's of great gifts the greatest of all just being there everyday of our lives.

Enjoy your tree art lesson. Embrace your acrylic painting tutorial. Because like the Tree painting with a Twist you gave room to grow and branch out! The secret of this painting is that the Tree is YOU! Love you Bless you and I hope to see you at the Easel real soon!   https://www.facebook.com/hartparty

Painting with A Twist the Must do you have yet to do

The Painting Party, Painting With a Twist, Pinots Pallet, Merlot 2 Masterpiece (where I taught)  Social Artworking and Craftertainment. This is the BYOB Or BYOW painting experiences that are opening up everywhere. If you have been eyeing that Groupon and are thinking about going. I must encourage you to set aside any concerns you may have and Say YES! This is one of the best new activities out there. How it works is you pick a painting you want to do at a Location near you that looks fun. Bring company! You can do it alone and it is friendly BUT sharing this experience is one of its perks. Buy YUMMY snacks. Make your night special. Classes can run long so be prepared. You will be taken through the painting step by step so relax. This is popular because it works. Some places draw on the Canvas for you some don't. You are going to have a great time. As for wine it does help but there is a threshold for Failure. Wine induced relax can flip into a CRAZY painting. At some point take a look at Yelp to get a real idea of what people think. Yelp tends to be a place for malicious complaining and not always an honest critic so read all the reviews. Google has reviews too. No matter what,  you will be making a memory worth framing and hanging on the wall. You can paint the edges though some places offer extras such as frames. Finding time to enjoy your creative side is the best thing you can do. Most of these social artworking venues really care about the customer. If you go in with an open heart and a childlike sense of adventure you may just be opening a new chapter of your life... your artist chapter! 

Painting Party