Art

True Unconditional Love is Within You

“You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.” – Buddha

I know the term SELF-LOVE gets tossed around a lot and honestly, I think it’s for good reason. We are starved for compassion towards ourselves. Being okay with who you are, just as you are – imperfections and all is what it all boils down to. It’s those imperfections that make you, well, YOU.

We are not taught to love ourselves unconditionally. “I will be able to love myself when …” is an all too common loop that happens inside our heads. I know growing up if you thought too highly of yourself you were called names like conceited or arrogant. So, I would knock myself down a notch. But, over time, knocking myself down became quite the nasty habit. You then look for love outside of yourself when what you really need is to LOVE YOUR WHOLE SELF.

This is a great excerpt about self-love from Whitney Freya’s book Rise Above:

“The only source of true unconditional love is within YOU.

No one else can possibly love you EXACTLY, 100% of the time, the way you really, really want them to. Only you can do this.

Until you rediscover this unconditional love you have for yourself, you will continue to look to others to provide this energy, this feeling, for you.

And when they let you down, because they don’t love you perfectly, your love for them becomes conditional. Then, their love for you becomes conditional. Or it feels that way. And you feel like you’ve been cheated or robbed, or somehow left out. You become the victim.”

Wow! Do you see how the act of not fully loving yourself ultimately puts you in place where you put conditions on your love and give others permission not to love you unconditionally either.

I saw this prickly pear cactus heart on my walk this morning. Seeing a heart out in the wild is a message of unconditional love and support from the universe. It all starts with you. The more you practice being loving, to yourself as well as others, the more love shows up in your life. Love is all around you.

Have you seen hearts around? What do their messages mean to you?


My Buddha painting shown above was painted live during the Phoenix Festival of the Arts. If you are interested in purchasing this Buddha painting (mural #9) or any of the murals that were created during the festival, please contact the Phoenix Center for the Arts at info@phoenixcenterforthearts.org. All murals are $300 + shipping.

Sacred Word of the Year: Light

Be the LIGHT – A message from my muse:

Rise up towards the light, rising sun, shining moon, illuminate and birth ones self. Smile. Notice the beauty that surrounds. Make more art. Let your inner radiance show. When you are in love with life, you naturally radiate that love.

You are here to light up the world. Take time to listen to your inner voice, that is all you need to inspire. Shine with the purest intentions. Show up as the shining light that you are and the best qualities of being human will continue to flow and circulate throughout the world. 

This little light of mine … I’m going to let it shine!

My heart has chosen LIGHT as my sacred word for 2018.

Choosing a sacred word of the year is one of my favorite New Year rituals. I love how it weaves it’s way through my year. It usually shows up in unexpected ways and always prove to be a guiding light. This is my 6th year choosing a word – I have chosen ABUNDANCE, CONNECTION, NOURISH, DEVOTED and PRESENCE. Some words served me better then others, but they all had something to teach me.

In sharing my word of the year, I believe that it creates a sacred energy that nourishes it’s intention.

I “tried on” a few word variations of light such as shine, illuminate, radiant and vibrant but, LIGHT felt right. Light brings visions of sunlight, moonlight, starlight that literally enables vision guiding us on our path. My 2017 word presence helped me to focus and re-focus on the now and with 2018 my desire is to focus and refocus on the light that surrounds. Allow it illuminate the dark places and bring forth goodness.

“We never really see the world exactly as it is. We see it as we hope it will be or we fear it might be.” ~Maria Popova on the podcast On Being with Krista Tippett

I’m tired of seeing the fear it might be and want to see it as I hope it will be.

Ways I wish to embody LIGHT

  • to seek the light while acknowledging and honoring the dark
  • to be the light; focus on what lights me up and share that with the world
  • to literally FEEL and BE lighter
  • to be a lightworker who chooses actions that raise the vibration of the planet
  • to have a lightness of being; to connect with my authentic joy
  • to be light-hearted, take control of anxiety and laugh more
  • to light a fire under my ass and take positive action

Why Choose a Sacred Word for the Year?

ONE WORD deepens change. It relieves the pressure of having to make too many changes all at once and provides a laser focus on one significant change. Most of us forget our long list of intentions. It is easier to remember one word.

Tips to Choosing your Sacred Word

➳ Ask, “What word do I want to embody into in 2018?”
➳ Intuitively choose a magazine.
➳ Flip until you find a word that surprises or delights you, cut it out.
➳ Research and contemplate what your word means to you.
➳ Let your word pick you. If you “think” it’s not right but, you can’t shake it – honor it.
➳ Create artwork to celebrate and illustrate your word.

This month, in my  private Facebook community I’m sharing about choosing a word of the year.

I talk about how to find your word and then walk you how I created a word of the year visual intention collage as a reminder to amplify your intention. If you would like join, click here: Discover Your Creative Magic Community

Phoenix Festival of the Arts 2017 Recap

Painting outside, among other artists, and getting the chance to chat with with people in my community about art is right up there with my best. day. ever. This was my third year participating in the Phoenix Festival of the Arts  event, held every December, and I love it more and more each time.

Check out this quick video walk around the artists mural area at the beginning of day 3.

This year I was called to create the Buddha below and had the pleasure of collaborating with each of the artists on ether side of my mural.

Here is a flipagram of my work in progress on the Buddha mural.

This painting was a collaboration with Carlos Mendoza during the Phoenix Festival of the Arts and it was SOLD! Hooray! It was a privilege to work with Carlos, as you can see here he’s a very talented artist.

If you are interested in purchasing the Buddha (mural #9), the Eagle (mural #8/9), or any of the murals that were created during the festival, please contact the Phoenix Center for the Arts at info@phoenixcenterforthearts.org. All murals are $300.

Art On Exhibit

I finally got around to updating my exhibition page and realized I have been showing my art publicly for over 5 years! WOW. I remember when I would see other artists putting themselves out there and wonder when I would be ready. I longed to share my heart and art with the world. To fill the world with delightful color and pattern and meaning and possibility.
You know what? 5 years later, I’m still not ready. I still question myself and my art ALL the time. I don’t know that I’d ever be 100% ready or have it all figured out and I’m not sure I will ever stop questioning myself, my art and my worth.
What I do know is that I will take small steps to get where I want to go, I will lose my way, I will be kind to myself when things don’t go as expected, I will put myself out there even when I worry and I will be brave and say yes to things that scare the crap out of me and excite me to no end. Life is mine (and yours) to CREATE. Get out there and create your own kind of magic!
I am thrilled to be featured artist at Alis Living Lifestyle Boutique in Scottsdale through the end of November. Be sure to stop in and browse my birds, butterflies & mandala collection. Take home the piece that calls your spirit.
6938 E. 1st Street
Scottsdale, Arizona 85251
Boutique is open Tuesday – Saturday

Live Like the Lotus, At Ease in Muddy Water

“Emerge”
Original sold
Prints are available in my shop, here

I have always been drawn to lotus flowers, not only for their beauty but also for their symbolism. I painted this at a time when I was feeling the pull to create art intuitively. My life, as all lives, is full of challenges and opportunities to rise above those challenges.

The journey of the lotus flower is a wonderful analogy for the human experience and journey of enlightenment. In challenging conditions, the stem begins growing in muddy, murky water and slowly rises above the surface, just as we also rise above our challenges. As the petals unfold, we too unfold and bloom into something beautiful. According to a traditional story, the more muddy the water, the more beautiful the lotus flower when it emerges.

Its open blossom stands for enlightenment and beauty. Its flexible stem symbolizes resilience. At night the lotus closes and emerges again with the sunlight of a new day. Each day is a new life, a new rebirth for the flower.

The lotus is considered a sacred and divine flower in many religions, most notably Hinduism and Buddhism.  The life cycles of the Lotus evokes how the human spirit unfolds: from humble beginnings in the mud to the blossoming of the soul in the light.

May we live like the lotus, at ease in muddy water.

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Open House Artist Reception at Alis Living

Join us for an evening of art, music, light bites and beverages at our first Fall Open House Artist Reception “Rise Above,” featuring Kristen Fagan.

Kristen works primarily with acrylics, but is a talented multi media artist. Leading others in creative pursuit, Kristen helps the aspiring artist access her own unique inspiration. Her own work is joyful, soul nourishing, colorful, and playful. Come and meet Kristen and be the first to see our newest art installation featuring a selection of Kristen’s work. Have your photo taken with her newest work; a magical pair of wings; multi layered acrylic on canvas.

We are also excited to have the talented vocalist Nikki Shue performing live.

Alis Living’s inaugural Open House Artist Reception September 28th at 6:30 pm.
▫️Original art and jewelry for sale
▫️A free soul art activity
▫️Music by local musician Nikki Shue
▫️Refreshments and hor’dorvs
▫️New “Rise Above” wing painting will be on display for a special photo op

If you are local I hope to see you there! Please RSVP on Facebook, here.

My wings in process + watch video below to see this from the start, I’ll debut the final wing art at the Open House Artist Reception on Sept 28th!

Painting my Super Soul Flow Wings! Rise Above!!!The Whitney Freya Canvas, Alis Living Lifestyle Boutique, Janet Ellis, Len Springer, Kerry Burki, Joyful Roots – Art & Design

Posted by Kristen Fagan Art & Design on Monday, September 18, 2017

P.S. it’s also the Scottsdale Art Walk this evening so, it’s a great night to stop by and then wander through the other galleries and restaurants in old town Scottsdale!

#artistreception #riseabove #creativelyfit #supersoulflow #creativecoach #trusttheprocess #enjoythejourney #scottsdaleartwalk #oldtownscottsdale #scottsdaleartopening

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Eclipse Creative Magic

Blessing to you on this new moon! Are you still buzzing from all of the eclipse magic this week? Even if you weren’t able to see it – I’m the only one in my family that didn’t have the opportunity to watch it – but, I am definitely feeding off the intense vibes from it and hope you are too.

The solar eclipse is the perfect time to use the celestial powers to unleash your creativity. Aside from being amazing to witness, solar eclipses are also powerful times to manifest what you want to bring into your life. During the solar eclipse, I guided a beautiful soul to create her own abstract intentional painting. This art will infuse the scared meditation space At Alis Living Lifestyle Boutique with love, gratitude and peace for all. Through this personal painting session, I believe we both both did that for one another today!

Don’t forget that even though the eclipse has already happened – the energy from it will impact and affect us through the middle of September. And will be planting seeds for years to come. This eclipse is in the sign of Leo. And Leo energy is the invitation and imperative to shine our most glorious shiny selves.

Speaking of Leo’s (see what I did there?! Ha!) I celebrated my 39th birthday this month! The picture above is from an awesome sunrise I witnessed from the Boulders Resort and Spa in Carefree, Arizona. My sweet husband Bert booked us a night for my birthday and arranged for his mom to watch the kids. I am not much of a morning person but, this place was so pretty I decided to set my alarm and take it all in. The only way I could drag myself out of bed was that I knew I would promptly go back to bed for some extra zzz’s after! Here are a few more pictures of our little getaway:

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Custom Art: Beach Landscape

67 Steps in Greenpoint, NY

Acrylic on Canvas, 36″ x 24″

This beach beauty was a commissioned custom work of art for a very special couple. They just celebrated their 1 year wedding anniversary and that made me think of this piece. 67 Steps is a sentimental spot for this couple. They wanted a way to celebrate their love of each other and this location, an original work of art allows them to “visit” this beach every day.

I am sharing the photograph they gave me on the left and my rendition of it on the right. After totally obsessing about the sky on this FOREVER, this labor of love shines with the spirit of the beach and the joy 67 Steps brings this couple.

I love to work on commissioned art like this. There is something magical about creating with the intention of it being a special gift.

Contact me if you would like to discuss a custom art gift.

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Free Spirit Artwork

“Free Spirit”, Acrylic on Canvas, 16″ x 20″

Embrace your free spirit with this colorful expressive painting. This eclectic pattern and freestyle mark making was created as part of an intuitive painting meditation process.

Shop Original Paintings


Shop for prints and printed products in my RedBubble shop.

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Creative Warrior Goddess

I am a creative warrior goddess.

I am here to lay claim to my creative heart, my artist soul, my being, my creative warrior goddess energy and that which fills me up. And in doing so –  my well will overflow and spill out to those around me. I am here to encourage your creative warrior goddess to emerge. To help you lay claim to your creative heart and share that what is hidden within your artist soul.

creative energy: ability to create, life energy and passion for creative actions.

warrior energy: focus, dedication, purpose and personal power

goddess energy: creative flow, love, pleasure, wisdom, intuition and joyful self-acceptance.

The warrior goddess is a sacred mixture of the masculine and feminine. Both yin and yang are held in balance within the Warrior Goddess and therefore a deep sense of wholeness, confidence and joy is felt. I invoke the creative warrior goddess in me when I explore, practice, show up, ignite, and create magic that is mindful and heart-full but also wild and free.

“If we truly want to be fulfilled in life, it is going to involve us learning to work with our warrior energy. For those who do not frequently feel the arising of this powerfully passionate and creative yearning, it might mean invoking the warrior energy by doing things that activate adrenaline. Once the energy is flowing, you’ll definitely feel it. It’s the kind of energy that wants you to jump and leap; to scream and shout. When you feel it arising, the key is not to deny it, but to find a positive vehicle for its expression.” ~ from ShiftFrequency.com article Learning Through Adversity – Invoking the Spiritual Warrior Energy > Read more.

I’m a multi-passionate creative and am proud to weave my creative pursuits through my life and work. It’s hard for me to explain what I do – what is my elevator pitch?! I fear I may appear flaky or confusing. What I really hope comes forth is that I’m creative, curious, passionate, and a lifetime learner who wants to share creativity with the world in whatever way that shows up.

I’m a full time graphic designer for a small business, that’s been my day job for 17+ years and I love it however, I don’t share the work I do on my blog or social media often.

The stuff I share with you is my creative heart.

I am multi-passionate (and fell in love with that term the first time I heard it) I draw, paint, craft, design jewelry & lifestyle products, I teach art workshops, hold painting parties and share jewelry tutorials online and in print. This list is ever evolving. Just when I think I have things figured out, they change. I have learned to follow my creative heart and allow myself to wander. Not all who wander are lost. Being creative is the constant. It’s the thread that ties everything together. It’s the desire to express – to bring forth beauty – to share and connect.

I am a creative warrior goddess.


What things do you love that weave their way through your life and biz? Do you struggle with feeling flaky and confusing or do you embrace the different things that show up?!

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My Year in Paint 2016

I am strolling down memory lane by reflecting on the acrylic paintings I created last year. Take some time and reflect upon the art work (or whatever your creative outlet) you created last year and I bet you’ll be surprised by the wisdom you find buried in your creativity.

I wanted to do this earlier in January but, I realized I had not photographed and uploaded all my current work – I guess that’s another good reason to take stock on what you’ve created. 😉

I want to thank Connie of Dirty Footprints Studio for her prompts and insight on how to think about my year in paint and what things to consider for digging deeper through my annual body of work.

Live Mural Painting during the Phoenix Festival of the Arts 2016

PART 1 DOCUMENTATION

I take pictures of everything. In fact, I am constantly running out of camera space and dropbox space which can be super annoying but, still I take a zillion pictures. One key task for me to work on is editing and deleting the unnecessary photos so, I’m not storing so many.

Subject matter. What did you explore this year? I painted lots of mandala’s due to a few mandala workshops. I surprised myself with the night goddess (I don’t usually paint faces) and I had one little gray bird appear, other subjects were dream catchers, abstracts with natural imagery and a seascape.

Color palette. Are there certain colors or color combinations you leaned towards more often? How do you use color — is it bold and bright? earthy? Why do you think that is? I played with neon and a few hot pinks and oranges. Mostly I was drawn to blue and purple. I used leftover paint from painting parties to limit my choices. My colors this year overall have been bright jewel tones with metallic touches. The dominate color palette feels mystical, like I was inviting in more magic.

Composition. Is there a certain composition you lean on more often than others? I fluctuate with painting in the center or off to one side.

Patterns & motifs. Are there certain patterns or motifs that you repeat in many of your pieces? Do you notice any repetition? Dots, lotus petals, natural elements mixed with geometric.

Medium. What were your favorite art supplies and mediums to work with? Did you try anything new? Acrylic paint and paint markers are my favorite. I spent a lot more time with watercolor, even had a 30 day challenge with watercolors that produced awesome ideas. Some new things I added this year are inky sprays with stencils for the backgrounds, white gel pens for detail and line work and I used my wood burning tool for the first time this year too.

Energy. What is the overall energy of your art? What words or emotions would you use to describe the feel of it? I spent more time with intentional creativity, mindfulness and meditation this year and due to that I feel like my work has been infused with spiritual, magical and uplifting energy. Just the things I needed to bring forth in my life.

PART 2 INFLUENCES

As you look over Your Year In Paint consider some of the things that were impacting your creative process.

Workshops or classes. Was any of your work created by studying with a particular teacher or program? Lots of work was created during and after facilitating art workshops. I read a few intuitive art books and grew my art mentor tribe online to keep me inspired (and honestly sometimes overwhelmed).

Work. Did work influence your art making? Are you a teacher? Were you inspired by the classes you taught? I created a lot of work in 2016 based off the workshops Free Spirit, Mandala Magic, and Catching Dreams that I taught. I didn’t spend much time in the studio creating just for the fun of it. Lots of artwork began as class demos. Because of this my subject matter doesn’t feel as scattered.

Family and Relationships. Did you find your relationships to be supportive of or disruptive to your overall creative process this year? On one hand financial stress disrupted my sense of security and grounding. But on the other hand, it forced me to take risks that I may not have. I jumped before I was ready. Some ideas worked wonderfully – like awesome collaborations and showing my art in two gallery group shows – while others didn’t get enough water to grow or were put together haphazardly as I didn’t have the serenity of security to properly plan and execute them.

Travel. Did you travel during 2016? How did the change of scenery influence or impact the things you see in your art? We spent time exploring Arizona visiting Cibeque Falls, Payson, Flagstaff and the Grand Canyon. Bert and I also got to Denver in the Fall. Travel, especially with a large emphasis on being in nature, is incredibly inspiring and soul satisfying. Exploring in nature had a direct impact in me exploring the idea of creativity itself and playing with lots of new mediums this year.

Other Artists. Were there certain artist that really impacted you this year? I am inspired by intuitive and intentional artists, their philosophy and way of getting others to open up and let go during art making. I try and soak up all the love and wisdom they share so that I can in turn share it with my tribe in my own way. I have a long way to go before I think I’ll feel totally comfortable with how that translates into sharing my gifts and why. These heart centered art mentors help me navigate the way.

PART 3 WEAVING THE TWO TOGETHER IN A CREATIVE NARRATIVE

This is when you take what you excavated about your actual creative process for 2016 (Part 1) and combine it with what was influencing you in 2016 (Part 2) to craft a narrative about who you were as an artist in 2016 (and to give you clues of who you are becoming as well!).

Creative Flow. When was I the most in the flow creatively during 2016? One art piece that stands out is Light within Darkness and with that piece I was moving through negative energy and reminding myself that I am able to create and that is powerful. That there are beautiful things that come out of the darkness such as the full moon and lotus flower. I was most in the flow during the index card a day challenge, where I showed up regularly in a small way to create.

Art and life. How did my art making mirror what was happening in my life? Are there certain subject matters or ways of expressing myself that best reflect what I was going through? Yes, mandalas in particular are a form of meditation and healing. I spent a lot of time working on them this year and that calmed me. I can let my worries and thoughts drift as I just focus on what pattern to add next. It was a mindful practice in presence to help ground and remind me that I have all I need right now, in this moment.

Interests and curiosities. What was I interested in creatively during 2016? Definitely the desire to share the magic of painting with others as well as the philosophy or intuitive and intentional art making. I was curious about watercolor taking it out of my sketchbook, onto index cards and then paper and then out into the world sharing with others. I started the year off with a curiosity in wood burning, but only got to a couple projects. I hope to pick this up a bit more this year.

Highlights and achievements. What are the things you are most proud of creatively? There really are many! I’m proud that I stepped out of my comfort zone and facilitated many workshops at multiple locations, that I shared my art in two group gallery shows, that I began to find my people – those that get me and want to join me on this magical creative journey, that I said yes more then no to things that scared and excited me and mostly about being a creative warrior – pushing through whatever muck I was stuck in and gifting the magic of creativity with others.

Nuggets of wisdom and advice. What nuggets of wisdom did you learn about your creative process? What type of advice would you give another artist based on your year creatively? Follow what feels interesting. Get out and connect with creative minded souls. Collaborate. Let go of perfection. You don’t have to know it all to say yes, just jump and figure it out along the way!

What’s next? What feels really juicy to you? What do you want to explore more of in 2017? What do you want to do less of? Where can you tighten up or loosen up? Where can you embrace more of who you are as an artist?  Refining my workshops for more soul nourishing creativity. Bringing in a little more magic and play. Letting go of having to do it all, focus on what feels good and give it your all. Tighten up on how to help others feel safe to let go and let it flow in creating. Loosen up on needing to gather more and more information, be content in my enoughness. Through daily art practice I want to explore and allow my voice to emerge, through art journaling I want to embrace the messy, ugly parts of art healing without worrying if anyone will see it.

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Gratitude Changes Everything

15219597_1166234743414485_6262426479666908882_nWatercolor and ink artwork created for KERRY Magazine.
Border art appears on the back cover of Issue 3.
Quotable art was given away at the KERRY Launch party!

 

Gratitude changes everything. It’s a sentiment that has been on my mind a lot lately. I have felt less then grateful in some areas of my life – it has worn my compassion thin and frustration and unrest have taken up residence in it’s place. The suffering we experience really takes place in our minds. We look at reality vs what we “think” it should be and when it doesn’t align we feel that with anger, frustration and resentment. To be free, we need to let go of the idea that life will not challenge us. Life is never free of challenges. It’s possible to accept them and transcend them by actions, and one way to do that is through conscious gratitude.

I started a family gratitude jar in the beginning of November and intended to read through the notes on Thanksgiving, however, I changed my mind. I wanted us to have a little more time to think about the things in life we are grateful for so, instead, it will be a nice new year’s activity.

Stopping to think about what you are grateful for opens your eyes to the beauty this truly is around. I know that I have never been more grateful for my opportunity in this life to express myself through my art. It helped me see that most of my stress was in response to thinking about the future. It’s the present I needed to embrace. And, when I made that shift in my mind things got a little easier. It’s been such a profound effect that I think my word of the year may be “presence”. I’ll talk more about what a word of the year is and why I like to choose one soon.

“If you are depressed you are living in the past. If you are anxious you are living in the future. If you are at peace you are living in the present.”~ Lao Tzu

If you are interested in making your own, I shared a diy: make your own gratitude jar on my blog, here. If you’re feeling a little ungrateful this holiday season I encourage you to give it a try and see how things start to shift. Even if you are already full of gratitude, it may be a nice family activity to do together.

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