Admiration alert!

These three creative women have been inspiring me for years, and continue to do so, in ways that go beyond their gifts and talents as artists. They all express themselves in the world and through their work in ways that draw me back time and time again.

I’ve been thinking a lot about this recently as I begin to expand my own gifts and send them into in the world, and I got to wondering what it is exactly that I admire and respect so much; maybe if I work that out I can cultivate these qualities in myself!

Mae Chevrette

At 27, Mae is one of those people who uncovered her own unique style early on, and developed it consistently to build what is now a thriving little business. I’ve watched Mae develop her gorgeous and recognisable style, and build her business over a period of about five years, and I am repeatedly blown away by what she does and how she does it. And of course her love of travel and frequent paintings about the sea are part of it too!

Consistency: Mae has developed her own methods {which she understandably keeps under wraps} and gone deep and long with them to produce work that is obviously hers, and is always beautiful.

Persistence: I believe she began with Etsy. As her audience has grown, so has her reach; she has been featured in O magazine, was commissioned to paint the most incredible large scale piece for a building in New York, and often exhibits in local cafes, and most recently a fair, all to great success. {I’m not in fact stalking her; I just read her blog!}

Modesty and Quietness: Despite her success, you don’t tend to see her splashed about all over the place; I don’t think I’ve ever seen an interview or guest post by her. Her blog is a combination of sharing of her work and little stories from her life and photos from her studio. Her approach, aesthetic and success are a huge inspiration to me.

Vivienne McMaster

I have taken two of Viv’s self portrait photography classes, and they both transformed the way I see myself. She has this incredible gentle, playful energy that comes through everything she does, and has cultivated her passion for photography, portraiture in particular, into a whole range of beautiful courses which are helping women all over the world look at themselves with more love and compassion. To me that is quite awe inspiring.

Self Kindness: Viv has taken self portraiture and made it her own, using it as a means to learn to love and accept ourselves with greater ease and more joy.

Honesty: Viv doesn’t hide the fact that she has struggled with depression; in fact it was discovering photography and self portraiture that began to help her heal, which is partly why I think she’s so successful. She talks about the things we all deal with when it comes to loving and accepting ourselves, and her warm and approachable style makes you feel encouraged and supported.

Consistency: Clearly this is key to any kind of success and fulfilment! Viv’s approach, message and style are recognisable for softness and playfulness with a huge dose of talent. Just look at her website and you’ll see what I mean. From her first ecourse to her current workshops both on and offline, her writing and features in magazines and on large blogs {including Oprah’s}, to the recent talk she gave, watching Viv expand her gifts has been a total pleasure.

Connie Hozvicka

Connie is another artist I’ve followed for years, for her warm approachability, her soul-centred, expressive artistic style and her openness and generosity. Again, her work is unique and recognisable, and her paintings are powerful and full of rich symbolism.

Spirituality: Connie has always talked about her spiritual beliefs and practices alongside, and as intrinsic to, her art and creativity. I admire this hugely as for me too they are inextricably linked, but I struggle with talking about it as much as I’d like. She is also very open about how she feels about things, and I admire that too. I’m sure it polarises people, but her followers are ‘true fans’, and there are many of us!

Fun: From the first video of Connie I ever watched, I could tell she was a fun and vibrant person. For all her soulful depth, she also doesn’t take herself too seriously, and her warm personality comes across in a way that makes you want to stick around and hear what she has to say.

Consistency: There it is again! Connie is consistent in both her painting style and approach {around which she’s built a hugely popular range of on and offline workshops, including a teacher training course}, and her openness on her blog. She readily shares about her trials as well as her successes, and what we see is a real and very likeable person.

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I didn’t know exactly what I was going to say when I started this post; only that I wanted to share with you three women who inspire me on a regular basis, both as artists and as people. I feel I’ve learned something about myself too here, about the qualities I aspire to and the integrity with which I hope to express myself and share what I know, learn and experience.

I don’t mind admitting that I have felt envious of all three of them at times, when I felt I didn’t know how to get where I wanted to go, or in moments of fear that I had nothing of value to offer, but I have also learned that holding them in my mind as inspiration rather than competition feels about a million times better.

When it comes to the goodness out there in the world, more is most definitely more! The success of others doesn’t diminish me or leave less room for me. It just shows me that these things are possible, and more than that, LIKELY, if we commit to ourselves, stay in integrity and keep walking forward one step at a time in the direction of our dreams.

Who’s on your admiration/inspiration list?