#InMyStudio... back at last

My studio time has been a little stop-start with me having guests from back home, I am not complaining at all. I’ve loved every moment of it, it’s been such a gift in my life at this time. First Courteney and Marc and for the past two weeks, my parents. It has been a truly remarkable time for us as a family. I basically camped out at my sister’s place for the duration of the visit so we could do everything together and it was utterly heavenly but more about that in another post.

So of course, I have headed straight back into my studio this week and I am so happy to be back in my happy place. I have been finishing pieces and starting new ones, working with a bit of clay and doing lots of art admin. I couldn’t be happier. Both these pieces are available, I will be doing some weekly shop updates over the next couple of months. I am also preparing for two online exhibits / auctions I have coming up. More about these soon. xxx

SOLD - Becoming Botanical - 10”x20” Stretched canvas

©JeanneMarieArt 2025

Some of my unfinished works can linger with me for so long and with time I’ve learnt to accept this. I can’t force anything or rush it, I have to wait and listen to the quiet whispers of where each piece wants me to go! I am always patient and always listening.

 
 

If you have been following my social media pages you will see I’ve been sharing some timelapse videos of me painting… warmups and under-paintings so far. I have not done this for a very long time but it feels really good to be back here and dare I say, I’m having so much fun.

I finally unpacked my film-rig and camera and it’s all set up with my studio lights and I am ready to start filming and sharing again. I am not saying anything formal will come of it yet but for now, I am just mindfully sharing and playing.

It is my plan to share a little something daily or every second day of things I’m working on and progressing with. This week I shared the beginnings of some new pieces.

Keep watching this space!!!

 
 

***Pre-Orders now open....

Last week I worked with my South African Art Printers to have more of my fabric images printed off so my dear friend, Jackie can run off my new batch of cross body bags.

Limited edition cross body bags

~ only 10 available ~

I am happy to let you know that the prints have been collected and production is underway.

I have set up Pre-Orders page in my little shop for you to secure your bag.

Thank you for those who have enquired already.

Each bag is handmade and beautifully lined with traditional South African shwe-shwe fabric. The image is a lined and zipped pocket on the front of the bag. The main pouch is made from a beautiful green corduroy fabric on the front and orange on the back with an adjustable soft black velvet strap, with brass fittings.

Bag size - 10.5” x 11”

©JeanneMarieArt 2025

In other exciting news...

Our Camino de Santiago has been booked!

The Camino de Santiago, also known as the “Way of St. James,” is one of the most famous pilgrimages in Christianity and one I have waited years to do.

I have thought about it and spoken about it for years and it’s finally happening. We are doing the traditional and more original route from Portugal to Santiago, spanning over two weeks. I’m nervous and excited. I have been walking extensively the past few years and even more this year and I have been preparing longer distances the past few months and obviously this will increase the next bit until we go.

I love the sacredness of pilgrimages, to journey forward physically and inwardly and this feels significant to be doing this particular one at this time.

Beautiful Resources...

I am currently working through these incredible titles. I’m round two with Rick’s book, The Creative Act. I absolutely love his words and approach to all things creative. As you know I’m a huge follower of Julia Cameron and I forgot I downloaded this book when it was first released. I have read all of her books and I’m thrilled to be listening to this one. I’ll listen through first and then do the work assignments on round two. It’s about the art of listening… brilliant.

Painting Calm is a practical guide on painting nature in watercolors. Although I will do some work with the watercolors, I’m more after the botanical and nature elements to practice.

 
 

Two beautiful weeks....

The past few years I actually haven’t had a holiday plus in amongst that, it feels like I lost a year or two somewhere and I can’t seem to find them anywhere. I did go to India in 2023 but my goodness, that was no holiday. To date that has been my hardest retreat. So happy to share that my holiday time arrived for me in the form of Courteney and Marc popping over to Portugal for a visit…. and what a visit it was.

My love tank filled to the brim.

My heart has honestly been so full since their visit. It truly was the most beautiful gift of my year so far and there have been so many wonderful moments already which I have so much to be grateful for. I have been missing my girl so much, it’s been the longest time we have spent apart from each other and we are both not loving that part very much. It made this encounter so precious. This time together will carry me for some months to come, until we can see each other again.

 
 

I took the two full weeks off and being tourists with these two awesome humans was next level wonderful. We did lots of incredible things but the most precious of all, for me, was walking everywhere together and preparing our meals together. We mostly ate at home, it was something we decided to do upfront and honestly, it was the highlight of my everyday.

To come together around the dinner table to share healthy food every day - pure magic.

Love this picture

I love how they integrated into my new world with such ease. Now everything makes much more sense to them when I share my news and stories about my life.

Another little gift… I got to play insta-mom for her and she got some lovely captures of me in my environment. So many beautiful moments and captures.

Marc popped over to Switzerland to see extended family which meant Corks and I had some down days at home and some touring together. We did a wonderful group hike and visited Sintra with my sister. We even experienced the full power outage that affected Spain and Portugal together by candlelight. On one of our down days we got to build the most special puzzle together. It sparked such a deep joy for both of us and we laughed until I cried. I have been searching for a comfie chair and this one has surpassed all my expectations. I wanted a chair that would feel like it was giving me a hug and oh boy, right on the money with that.

This precious memory will stay with me forever.

Thank you Marc and Corks for this precious time together, I hated saying goodbye and I miss you both a lot. I had the most precious time and these days have been tucked into my heart for eternity.

Until next time darlings. xxx

 
 

#InMyStudio... a works in progress

©JeanneMarieArt 2025

I don’t often share my work in progress but I would like to start sharing some aspects of the evolution of each piece. It was something I used to do but can’t remember why I stopped sharing that. There is so much work that goes into each piece and I would love you to see more of that. Well, she certainly took on many forms and I have to laugh at myself sometimes and the way I work… stop, start, backwards and forwards. I went back to try to find her origin story and I found it was around 3 years ago.

She has kept evolving and changing but I think I am close to calling her story complete. It’s been layers and layers of paint and there are some hidden stories under there, which I just love. I think part of my “stop-start” struggle with this piece was the unusual size of her canvas, its not one I’ve done before but it has grown on me - stretched canvas 10”x20”x1.5”.

It’s my hope to finish her this weekend although I still have many layers to go for her to feel fully resolved. It’s currently a journey of love but I can see how at times, the struggle has been real.

More about this piece soon. xxx

Art pouches...

With the arrival of Courteney, so was the arrival of my new batch of Art Pouches, all the way from Cape Town. As you know, they are beautifully handmade by my dear friend, who uses my printed image of one of my original artworks and turns them into my delightful art pouches for me. Each bag lined with South African shwe-shwe fabric and always my favorite green one. I am so grateful for this collaborative project we do together and have been doing for the past few years.

©JeanneMarieArt 2025

Thank you to those who have already ordered your pouches, I hope you are loving them as much as I do. Creating them and sending them out into the world is such a love project for me, so I can’t thank you enough.

If you haven’t ordered yours yet, follow the button below.

I had two prints left after this batch and my friend made me two cross body bags which I have been testing out. Let me know if you would be interested in one of these. More about them soon as we are in chats about running off a limited batch of them. Again lined with shwe-shwe fabric on the inside and a lovely corduroy on the outside.

©JeanneMarieArt 2025

Thank you Corksi for capturing my new cross body bag - was super fun!

Alone in her Garden...

… An ode to the Gardener within.

Gardening has been and will always be a sacred act of connection to myself and my body. I spent many beautiful hours working alone in my garden back in Cape Town. Created from a dusty old sandpit to a beautiful Zen garden. It took years of love, patience and dedication to cultivate this space and often it was only Riley 🐾 and myself tolling away together. He would sit under my Persian Silk tree watching me, with the wind gently blowing his long hair and ears as he looked over his garden with me. He loved it as much as i did.

I left this sacred space behind with my prayer flags from India still flapping in the side bamboo garden and some heart shaped rocks under the trees. In the end, my garden had settled in on itself and it was filled with birds, bees and butterflies.

SOLD - ©JeanneMarieArt 2025

 
 

I’m not sure when I will have another garden again but I look forward to when that day comes. I fell in love with being a planter of life and I loved creating sacred spaces!!!

#Ommanipadmehum #prayerflags #gardenerwithin

The Town Counsellor....

After some back to back days #inmystudio - I am thrilled to finally have finished this piece.

I started her back in Cape Town last year and she travelled with me to Ireland as I shared her “in progress” stage in the classroom. I loved being able to share this stage because that’s not often seen outside my studio. She has completely evolved and she surpassed a lot of my original ideas. I think it’s partly because of the long period between working on her and finding myself in a new creative space.

“If you step away from a work for a long period, you’ll be different when you return to it.”
— Rick Rubin

I found this quote last year May and it was so profoundly accurate to me and the way I tend to work.

SOLD - ©JeanneMarieArt 2025

I love her story so much and how she evolved with so much presence.

She is a mixture of nature and nurturer and seems so full of wisdom for her town around her. Under the earth’s surface she has a rich and lush system of seeds, plants and life. It is like she has a Tree of Life coming right through her or as if she is the Tree of Life herself, as her branches appear above the earth’s surface.

What a joy to spend time with her beautiful presence this week.

 
 

CoffeeShopScribbles...

I’ve been doing a lot of this lately since my time in Ireland… scribbling in coffee shops.

 

©JeanneMarieArt 2025

 

My little pocket size journal is filling up with graphite faces and it’s a practice that I find completely soothing. It helps me stay connected to being creative when my paints aren’t easily in reach. It also helps me keep my eye in because I draw freehand, sometimes with a reference and sometimes without. If I start with a reference, I will soon lose it and allow each piece to lead it’s own way intuitively.

 
 

A beginner's mindset...

This concept of “a beginner’s mindset” keeps popping up for me lately and it rings so true for where I am at currently.  Allowing myself to go back to basics and start again like a beginner, in all my practices, has been most humbling… on my yoga mat, in my studio, in my home and in my life. It has required a lot of patience and kindness with myself.  I am painfully aware at how much time I lost the past 18 months as I have gone through my own rock bottom moments.  After lots of personal challenges whilst packing up my life in South Africa, I suffered my worst burnout to date.

 
 

In Tai Chi - Swimming Dragon there is a pose we do, called “the Golden Cicada shed’s it skin”. It aptly became a metaphor for my life,  with a kind of allowing, I shed every aspect of my life, as I knew it.

As some of you may know, I relocated to Europe last October. I arrived here after my teaching trip to Ireland. The last 6 months have been about finding my feet, unpacking the few things I brought over with me and setting up a new home and studio.  Maybe we don’t really think about it much, but I believe it takes a lifetime to establish a beautiful home and life that you feel deeply connected to.  Finding unique pieces and elements that are special to you, that fill little spaces and time that make it uniquely your own and yours as a family.

To find myself back at the beginning, I have had to lean into that beginner’s mindset and see what unfolds. I am starting to find little elements and fill these spaces as I connect to my new environment and new life and maybe even a new sense of self.  It will take time. I can’t wait for my new home to settle in on itself as things find their place. I have been in a gentle nesting season, shifting and finding flow and new rhythms, with gratitude for the small things, at the core of it all.

Over the past 18 months, I lost my sacred flow state in both my creativity and studio. During that time, I dabbled here and there, starting many things but finishing far fewer. I am happy to say, I’m finally back in my space with consistent days in the seat and in my new studio. I need to get back to play as this is a big part of my practice. Again, I have had to lean into my beginner’s mindset to come back to my full-time practice. I’m playing again with concepts and ideas like I’m new to art and allowing things to unfold intuitively. I will share more soon as I have a new little series underway and of course I’ll be finishing pieces that I started last year.

 
 

I have and use a lot of modalities to help me regulate my nervous system but I think painting still remains my most restorative. Being able to create back to back days again has been most healing for me and to have this beautiful regulation back up and running again is such a gift to me.

SOLD

©JeanneMarieArt 2025

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My new yoga regime is also underway, phew, it took me time to find a system that would work for me. It has not been without it’s challenges. I lost a lot of strength and fitness in the move but I have been rebuilding and it’s beautiful. Being strong in my body at this age means everything to me. I am walking and hiking a lot too. I have joined a few hiking groups here and have some big hikes planned for later this year… all positive steps forward.

“One day at a time”

So I leave you with this thought that has been swirling around my mind the past while, if I continue with a beginner’s mindset every time I arrive on my mat or in my studio, never to run too far ahead of myself but to stay humble and in a forever growth mindset, that there is so much to learn in these quiet lowly places, if I allow myself.

From my heart to yours, always, Jeanne-Marie

xxx

 
 

The sound of music...

The past year or so, I gave up Apple Music and re-started my music journey on Spotify.

Music is a huge part of my daily practices and life and I am always seeking out deeply moving sounds to add to my ever-growing playlist. I have been playing my music in various settings more publicly recently and my selection has been most loved, so I thought I would share it here for you. I find the notion of sharing books and music so vulnerable as I feel it really gives one a sneaky glimpse into the internal landscapes of a person’s mind and soul. I hope you enjoy my selection as much as I do. It is gentle and at times a little haunting, mixed in with some surprising treats.

In the coming year I’ll create new and smaller lists but this will be my constant and ever growing list.

Enjoy and don’t forget to toggle the playlist for variety.

 
 

the gift of music

Not only does music release dopamine in the brain, some experts say that melancholic music also releases a hormone called prolactin, which is specifically tied to alleviating grief.

Stocking up my little shop....

***SHOP NEWS***

With my unpredictable schedule this year, I’ve decided to put my auction plans on hold for the rest of the year. As you know I work with the beautiful Stephanie Gagos and we have decided to push our slot to next year sometime. Which means I’m going to release completed pieces, as I go.

This weekend I stocked up my little shop a bit and I’ll be doing that weekly for the next while as I complete works. I’ll be updating my shop progress here and on my social media pages, so please keep a look out.

Please feel free to contact me directly as some of you have been, to secure works that catch your eye.

Thank you for your continued love and interest, always.

Love Jeanne-Marie

SOLD

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©JeanneMarieArt 2024

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©JeanneMarieArt 2024

I have been loving completing some of my unfinished works and this has been filling my creative love tank and has been encouraging me to keep moving forward.

 
 

Our beautiful boy...

Riley was pure love and the kindest soul.

What could I say about this precious being… There are so many Riley stories that we have tucked in our hearts. He had a beautiful long life and gave us almost 2 decades of love, life and everything else. He inserted himself in a BIG way into every aspect of our lives and was completely humanised by all of us and by himself too. In the first part of his life, he was larger than life itself and all I can say was how grateful I was that he was in such a small body. He was big energy and naughty in all the best ways a little dog could be and the girls loved it. In the second half of his life, he was so mellow and was all about soft blankets and cuddles, mollycoddled to the end. He was adorable and funny, making us laugh everyday. No matter who met him, loved him. He just had that way with people. He had a bit of an online social media presence too, it honestly felt like everyone knew him and loved him.

We just accepted him with all his odd little idiosyncrasies and there were many and he accepted us with ours. He was a true family dog, he belonged to all of us at different times and he had this way of making each one of us feel so special when he did. It was our complete honor. In the last bit of his life, he became my dog, I will never fully understand why but I am so grateful he did. It was pure adoration both ways. He was my studio dog, my yoga and meditation buddy and my all round little shadow. I carried him home sleeping on my chest, wrapped in my gown almost every night.

I was in so much physical pain with guilt that I had to make the call to end his precious little life. Maybe with time, I will find my peace with it. It got so hard in the end as his world got smaller and smaller.

My sweet Riley boy…

We held you in our arms, one last time. We kissed your head, in the indents above your eyes especially for our kisses, one last time. We held your precious paws in our hands, one last time. We said our sad goodbyes, one last time. And then you rested your sweet little head in my hand, one last time as you fell asleep, one last time.

Thank you Darling Boy, you were an unexpected love in my life and to be adored by you was pure gold.

To the most loved little dog in the world and the most photographed, you will be loved and missed by us all forever. Thank you for everything!

The little Deer with a big heart....

My sweet DeerHeart is finally finished…

She has a big beautiful tender heart. I created her in November 2022 when I was down at the beach where I found this big heart rock on my beach. I created her around it. I knew I wanted it to be her focal point and a little out of proportion to her, like her heart was so big and beautiful that it was coming right out of her chest. I think I achieved that. I also had some seal bones left that I included as part of her antlers.

 
 

I adore everything about her.

So many words come to mind when I think of her… DeerHeart, TenderHearted, BigHearted.

Just to name a few.

©JeanneMarieArt 2024

Winter in these parts....

Winter arrived late this year, as did our rains and this always makes me a little anxious. After our waters almost ran dry a few years back, I have some post draught fears when it comes to our winter rains. So by July to not have our rains yet, I was feeling panicked. During July the rains did arrive and the heavens finally opened up. Sadly, we got all our winter rains in two weeks straight and although our dams are back to full capacity, the damage left in its wake… rough.

It was hard to concentrate when we were all navigating some sort of water damage as a result of the severe weather. Thankfully things have calmed down. We have had a week or so of good weather and some beautifully sunny days which has allowed us to dry out a bit. The silver lining for me is that after the heavy rains, come the gorgeous fungi. I headed straight out to find them and it’s been nothing less than glorious.

I do love this time of year and the gifts of rain, mushrooms and moss.

They make me ridiculously happy. 🍄

Full circle....

28 years ago I spent time in a quaint little town, called Albufeira in the south of Portugal. Whilst I was there, I sent home some postcards as I did from all the places I visited during my travels. I sent this beautiful postcard to my Gran, perfectly depicting where I was. For some or other reason she kept this card and when she passed away, my Mom kept it and she found it other day and sent it to me.

It gave me goosebumps.

I felt quite nostalgic reading my younger-self words on the back. Full of the joy of travelling the world and being in a place close to paradise. I was happy. Although at that time, I wasn’t an artist, I was blown away by the level of creativity and the artisan way of life everywhere you looked. I was captivated. I bought a lot of creative things to send home, some of which I still have.

In my card, I said… “it looked like a beautiful life and I sure would like to go back one day”. Little did I know that it would take me almost 3 decades to be head back.

I’ll be back in Portugal in October 2024, more about that soon.

Beautiful Studio time...

©JeanneMarieArt 2024

I have been finding time #inmystudio and I am for sure, a little rusty. It has been hard at times but mostly I am happy to be back here on a more full time basis. As usual, I am trying to focus on finishing works, because I have a bunch of incomplete works piling up and I have been sneaking in some new pieces too. I know it’s very naughty of me but I can’t help it... I just love it so much. Also when new ideas come up, I feel they need to be responded to. I know this season needs to be one of discipline and I am feeling ready for that.

This weekend I worked on this incredible soul. Her stance is breathtaking and I am always a little amazed at how many layers of paint these pieces need and take and it’s a game of patience and love. Both of which, were so utterly satisfying. I will share more soon as I finish works as I go, but all in all my creative love tank is filling up.

 
 

I am a Portugal-based artist, creating soulful, nature-inspired portraiture that evokes a deep contemplation and a quiet solitude that can be found in all of us.