Author: Autumn

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Buddy at the Beach

I’m excited to announce the release of my latest creative work, Buddy at the Beach! Brilliantly written by Johanna Basford and illustrated by yours truly.

May I introduce, Buddy!

He is one of the friendliest elephants around. He loves to spend time at the beach, which is quite unusual for an elephant.

Although he has a sweet smile and big blue eyes, he is very lonely and wishes dearly for a friend. One day, something quite unexpected happens that may make his wish come true!

Click here to get your copy today!

May the story and illustrations leave you with a smile.

-Autumn

 

 

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July is World Watercolor Month

It’s time for a challenge. A creative challenge that is–31 watercolor paintings in 31 days!

Many artists take on creative personal challenges to spur growth, bust through creative blocks, gain more mastery over a medium, or simply engage in a regular artistic practice. Such a challenge also helps artists, like myself, find their voice and style. With school now out for the summer, the month of July is a perfect time for me to start such a challenge.

Watercolors are my favorite to work with, but I have a lot to learn and master. Enter the month of July, where I not only get to take on such a challenge but be part of something more.

World Watercolor Month allows artists around the globe to come together for the ultimate watercolor celebration.

(More info below, straight from Doodlewash.com.)

A Little History and the Why: Charlie O’Shields, the creator of Doodlewash®, is the founder of World Watercolor Month™. His own love of the medium led to the creation of a blog and social artist movement dedicated to promoting and connecting the vast community of watercolor artists all over the world.

What it is: It’s a month to inspire people to paint with watercolor while raising awareness for the importance of art and creativity in the world. And anyone can join the celebration from master watercolorists to artists just starting out with watercolor! Simply tag any art that uses watercolors (or gouache) with #WorldWatercolorMonth during the month of July!

And, best of all, taking part in this challenge helps to raise awareness for children in need of art supplies and art education around the globe through a partnership with The Dreaming Zebra Foundation! (This nonprofit just so happens to reside in my neck of the woods in Portland, Oregon.)

Check back as I will be creating a special gallery to showcase my progress and my 31 paintings–the good, the bad and the wonderfully ugly. If you so dare, take part in this challenge with me! Be sure to use the hashtag #WorldWatercolorMonth and tag me! Stay tuned for special details about each piece and how I plan to support The Dreaming Zebra Foundation with this challenge.

Here we go!

Autumn

 

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Breathe, Color, Write, Repeat

It’s official!

My new book, Breathe, Color, Write, Repeat: An Adult Coloring and Writing Journal to Reflect and Reconnect with the Self, is now available on Amazon!

Breathe, Color, Write, Repeat is an interactive journal pairing 30 coloring pages with accompanying guided writing prompts. Each prompt includes two lined pages with accent designs for more coloring. The purpose is to encourage meditative self-expression and relaxation through simple, reflective writing exercises.

This journal is for those who lead busy schedules but want to join in on the popular coloring book trend, minus the intimidating designs of most books out there. The paired writing prompts encourage creative expression, sparking self-exploration from within through combined coloring and writing.

It’s for those who simply want to sit down, open the journal and be guided, taking a break from all the busy decisions one makes in a day. This book is permission for you to take time for yourself. Grab a cup of tea and your favorite coloring implements, and simply begin. You deserve it!

Get it right here on Amazon, and please share away with any coloring book and journaling fans you know.

Now, take a little time for yourself. Happy writing and coloring!

–Autumn

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Color Yourself Whimsy

Today marks the official release date for my new coloring book, Color Yourself Whimsy!

A coloring book for all ages offers 30 unique, whimsical illustrations that will inspire creative play and smiles for young and old alike. You can choose from a variety of quirky designs, playful characters and fanciful landscapes. The hand drawings range from simple to more detailed, suiting any ability and skill level.

Each design is printed on one side to avoid bleeding through the pages. Whether you wish to relax alone with a cup of tea or have a coloring party with a friend, these pages are guaranteed to bring fun and delight.

Get it right here on Amazon, and please share away with any coloring book fans you know.

Happy coloring!

Autumn

 

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Intuitive Sketching

As an elementary school teacher, I make a multitude of decisions every hour, every minute and, seemingly, every two seconds. I spend my day reacting and responding, attempting to analyze and judge every decision I make in hopes of an improved outcome. Needless to say, when the end of the day comes, I’m tapped. I’m exhausted. Even deciding what I want to eat for dinner seems laborious. I don’t want to make any more decisions. I just want to be. My guess is that you don’t need to be a teacher to know this feeling.

When it comes to art, depending on the project, sometimes I don’t want to dwell in my thinking and judging brain. I want to dwell and create via my intuition and instinct. I need this balance, especially when I show up to my studio needing and wanting to create. I believe it’s important for fostering creativity.

If I am working on a book or commissioned piece, I tend to work with much more intention and from within that place of thinking and judging. I love this work. I love solving creative problems through the thinking and the judging. But, it is also important to give myself a break from this place.

So, at times, I will pull out a pad of paper, a sketchbook, the first tin or pouch of materials I find, and just go for it. I don’t think. I work from a flicker of inspiration and simply start.

I don’t plan. I just do. I scribble with charcoal. I make marks with a pencil. I fling and splash paint. It’s a time to be messy. And, I don’t erase. I rely on my intuition to start making marks and I rely on my instincts to form them into some image on the paper. I honestly don’t know how it will turn out. Sometimes it’s garbage. Sometimes it’s a piece that shocks me, making me question as to whether I actually did create it.

Working from an intuitive place is not only inspiring and freeing, but also healing. It’s a time I practice trusting my abilities, trusting my inner voice, trusting that my hands and fingers will work in sync with that intuition. It’s a time I learn how to rely upon and trust my abilities a little more, which I otherwise question and doubt daily.

I practice making quick decisions and don’t worry about what the final outcome will be. I don’t judge it. I just act. I just do. It is an absolutely freeing moment that is necessary in order to gain balance back in my life. I think we could all use more balance between thinking/judging and instinct/intuition. I think we could all gain from learning how to trust that which is, and always will be, within us.

In fact, I believe very strongly that in order to be a creative, you must practice trusting your inner voice equally as much as learning how to reflect and analyze your work deeply. Lose the fear. Lose the need to control every decision. Too much of that attempt to control will zap creativity. At least, it does for me.

Now, the next step would be to share those pieces born from instinct and intuition with all of you. So here’s to the next step!

The Polar Bear Cub Series you see in this post were all made from the gut, the intuition, from being in the moment. Each piece was created in less than 30 minutes, on 18 x 24 mixed media paper. I even left the original pencil marks on the page. I worked fast and put down paint in a messy manner. Working on large paper forces me to rely on instinct by making larger marks and brush strokes. My instincts guided my decision when adding paint and layering color. It is frightening for me to post these publicly. But, I know, it will be equally freeing and healing to do so.

We need to sit with our intuition more often, tapping into that mysterious inner voice that is responsible for creating. We need to learn how to trust that inner voice. We ALL dismiss it far too much and far too often.

How can you practice using your intuition today? And in what way can you make space to rely on your instincts?

Happy creating!
Autumn

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What’s Your 2017 Word?

Release.

This is my word for 2017. It has many layers and can represent many ideas. It can be as simple as the release of the clutter that creeps into my apartment. (Shoes are the first that come to mind.)

Release can also represent the letting go of emotions and old beliefs that once served me, but now get in my way. Limiting beliefs about my ability as an artist, a writer, as a person. Friendships and bonds might also need to be released and allowed to move on. Those are usually the hardest to let go.

On a lighter note, release for me also means the shipping of more art into the world, more books and my first novel. It means the release of more creativity, as I grow and improve.

It’s time to release my fears, so that I can create more art and give it to the world.

I’m ready.

Of course, there will be moments when releasing something will prove quite difficult, especially when it comes to relationships and beliefs about the world and my abilities. However, it will be well worth it.

I wonder…

What is your word for the upcoming year? What do you wish for? Hope for?

Will it also be release? Or perhaps maybe yours will be a big, shout-from-the-rooftops, YES!

A yes to new opportunities, new relationships, n
ew growth.

Or maybe yours will be adventure, or perhaps to create.

To get you started, I have crafted a coloring page for you! I encourage you to take a moment and reflect, allow a word that sparks you to float up. A word that will guide you through the next year. Write that word into the tail of the star and spend some time as you color, thinking about all the possibilities that word entails for you. What could it mean in a variety of areas? Perhaps take a moment and consider why you chose that word – I mean, really why you chose that word.

I would love to see your words and your finished pieces. Seeing your work brings me great joy. And I’m confident that they inspire others, as well, to be brave, to be open and to shine their light.

If you already receive my emails, a link to this coloring page is already waiting in your inbox. If you are not a subscriber, no worries. Sign up for my journal on the right (or below if you are on mobile), and yours will be delivered asap.

So, grab your favorite tool to color with and get to it!

May your next year be sweeter and brighter!

Shine your light.

Autumn

 

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Giveaway Time!

It’s time to celebrate!

Creating books for young and old has always been a dream of mine. In fact, it has been my wish-upon-a-star-hold-my-breath dream since I was in elementary school. And now I recently released two new books, making that a total of three to my name so far. (Psst–More to be released next year!)

So, a celebration is in order. I’m going to celebrate by giving away two signed copies of each of my latest books–Add a Splash of Whimsy to Your Day: A Journal for Creative Play and This is bird!

Here’s how to enter:

First, subscribe to my website and stay informed of book releases, new art, freebies and other goodness. I promise to not bombard your inbox!

Then….

You have options!
If you are on Facebook…
Step 1: Like this post.
Step 2: Comment, telling me two things. 1) The title of the book you want to win. 2) What is your wish-upon-a-star-hold-my-breath dream?

For Instagram users:
Step 1: Follow me on Instagram at writeautumn.
Step 2: Like and comment on this post in my Instagram feed, telling me what your wish-upon-a-star-hold-my-breath dream is and tag one other person who dreams big, too.
Step 3: Tell me the name of the title of the book you wish to win!
Step 4: Sit back, relax and wait for my next journal post announcing the winners. (We all know that everyone is a winner regardless.)

Please know that your support is part of my dream of sharing my work with others. Thank you for your kind words, your orders and cheering me on along this journey.

Winners will be announced January 3rd.

Keep dreaming! Shine your light!
Autumn

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Introducing Two New Titles

I’m excited to announce the release of two new books! Both have been a year in the making.

The first is a picture book for young readers that uses repetitive, simple sentence structure and onomatopoeia for a whimsy introduction to a fun character. This is bird! And bird has wings that go flap-flap-flap. But do you know which part of bird goes blink-blink-blink or swish-swish-swish? Flip through these colorful pages that blend photography with digital illustration to get to know bird and the sounds he can make. Young readers will find themselves flip-flip-flipping through the pages over and over again.

The second book, Add a Splash of Whimsy to your Day: A Journal for Creative Play is a journal with fun activities and artwork to inspire creativity. Grab a pencil or your favorite pen. Bring along your crayons, colored pencils and gel pens. And most importantly, don’t forget your imagination. Let the creative play begin! Through vibrant and whimsical artwork, coloring pages and writing prompts, this journal will send you on a creative journey of play and inspiration. You will be prompted to dream big, transform your fears into an adorable monster, relax with a little coloring, and doodle to your heart’s content. Whether you are a little kid or a big kid, this journal has something for everyone. Who knows, perhaps a story or a doodle can turn into something more! This journal is perfect for those young and old, who love to write, draw and color.

Thank you for checking them out! And I hope you find creative inspiration in one or both of them. Stay tuned because there is much more to come very soon.

Shine your light,
Autumn

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An Offer For You!

Offer to anyone who has seen my books; I’m looking to accumulate some honest reviews on Amazon, and if you were interested in leaving one, I would love to send you a blank greeting card and a sticker featuring the cover art of my book, Add a Splash of Whimsy to Your Day: A Journal for Creative Play. 

Two easy steps…

  1. Leave a review here, here, or here.
  2. Email me at writeautumn@gmail.com to let me know you have, and we can chat about getting you some goodies!

 

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On Poetry

I believe poetry is a mysterious language. Perhaps a divine language.

It speaks to the individual, the person, the vulnerability within us.

It’s personal. Therefore, it’s sacred.

On some level I believe poetry is channeled from a higher source. It requires wisdom, discernment and a seeking to interpret its meaning—A seeking for an answer to a question that we often cannot share out loud.

They are the secrets that are shared between your God and no one else. It’s personal.

And thank goodness for it.

How many of us would forever hide away, squander away our beautiful vulnerabilities out of well-intentioned, perceived survival? If we were to share our secrets in the daylight, expose our dear, sweet hearts, we may disappear under layer upon layer of masks because we think it necessary. We think that once we shine that light we are now compromised. But we are not.

We need our secrets.

We need our poetry.

We need another’s poetry, whatever form that may be–words, music, paintings, and many others. For in the poetry that calls us are sacred connections that we live on, thrive on, count on, need. And we need to find our connections at whatever cost.

So here is a poem not for you but for your soul. Allow yourself to open the gates of your heart for even the briefest of moments. Open the gates in order to allow your deepest heart’s desire to shine and for the chance to connect. Let it flicker. Let it dance, even if no one will notice. You will notice. You will know. Of course many of us desire that some other awake, kindred soul would take notice–Take notice long enough to say something, to connect, to maybe even acknowledge us. But that must not be our reason.

Allow the words to sit and stir within. And then allow yourself to delight in the secret that it reminds you of, makes you aware of. Enjoy it completely. Delight in its personal meaning for you, whatever that may be.

 

A Chance To Paint Each Other Gold
by Hafiz

What would make a lover value you over
other lovers they have known?

And tell me about your favorite place to
eat, or the finest meal you ever had.

There is something in caring touch that
your memory has recorded…and holds
dear, because it nourishes as few things
can.

A sincere wanting and need to artfully
give is inherent in love. And love will
get its way; for patience it knows, and
what a strength that is.

We subtract or add to our beauty with
each movement and sound. Look, we have
A chance to help paint each other gold.

The closest thing to amorous play with
God in form should be the goal of any
intimacy between us.

Us, those who seek that sacred friendship,
and can gaze at each other in appreciation,
in places we allow few to ever see.

Shine your light that only you can.

Autumn