We are having so much fun in the studio this year... it's a Van Gogh year!!!    We are first of all doing this collaborative piece where all of the students in my Art School are working on this huge 4X5 foot canvas painting "Starry Night" .  Can't wait to see how this piece turns out!!!  Sooo fun!  AND I'll be making art cards of it after so more people will be able to enjoy it, including the students who were a part of it!  Also in June,  I am taking students and other art enthusiasts on an Art Tour to Amsterdam in June.  AND to top it all off - a sketchbook of Van Goghs was just recently found making worldwide news this las week!   Life is good --- so much excitement, I'm having a hard time sleeping lately..... ;)

Summer is upon us and I can't wait to spend my summer in the studio painting... This painting reminds me of the amazing summer we are about to have -- It's titled "Celebration" and summer is a reason to celebrate!  It's the best time of the year -- BBQs, picnics, boating, camping, time in nature, ... etc.  I love the time to just "chill" a bit and reconnect with everyone and everything in the outdoors as it all begins to flourish and grow after a winter of hibernating!  Just like us!  Summer is full of colour and I love that after a winter of white, greys and blues... The sun makes me come alive and the Vitamin D is a bonus!  Enjoy the summer everyone -- make every moment count - and don't forget to celebrate!!! xo
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Happy New Year Everyone!!  What an amazing time it was last month doing my book launches -- Thank you so much to everyone who has bought my book already - and to those of you who continue to contact me to get a copy.   I have so many amazing comments and testimonies from people who absolutely have loved reading it.  It's a bit surreal still - even though it took 10 years to complete, writing the book was really the easy part and the true work is just starting - marketing.  I'm so excited to take this further  and will be looking at taking my book and art into other markets in the New Year -  I printed all of the images in the book and during my launch ended up selling a lot of artwork too.  The above painting is on the front cover and I sold out all of the prints and had to reorder.  I also reordered a canvas edition so am excited to see how that will look!   Right now I'm working on a commission of a downtown painting of Prince Albert at night and am excited to see it when it's done!  Since I was just a kid I've always had a hard time deciding what to work on so that's the nice thing about commissions - your decision is made for you!  There are so many things I love painting I'll need to live to be 1000 to paint everything I want to paint!!!   

So this was a very exciting day for me!  My book was in the mail... I need to proof it and see that all is well before the publisher will print all of the copies.  Mom and dad were so excited to see it and I can't believe that this dream in my head that's been there for 15 years is finally a reality!!  It's a bit surreal to say the least...  I started writing this book 10 years ago and finally finished it and got it published!  Life is grand!  It's been a whirlwind of activity - art classes with waiting lists again and so many exciting things in the future... A field trip to Amsterdam planned for the Adult students,  organizing Book launch events once my books have been printed (you can Pre-Order online now at my website www.christinathoen.com to have shipped or pickup at a launch or at the studio!!), Infinite Possibilities workshops in the works (which is truly teaching what my book is all about...),  a few commissioned pieces on the go and feeling myself just "itching" to paint so many awesome paintings that are in my head...  I feel like I'm playing a bit of "catchup" after a summer of downtime... but it feels amazing and I could not be happier to get a glimpse of what life has in store for the future.  So for now.... I'm just EnJOYing TODAY which is truly all any of us can really do... it is the Present... a gift... The past we can reflect on (and hopefully keep in mine the BEST parts)... and the future can be something that excites us (but we aren't there yet - so today is all we truly have!).   ENJOY.... xo

Today was a great painting day -- enjoyed every minute of working on this masterpiece, along with some chillin' in the sun on my lounger in the studio -- and even snuck in some squash baking for freezing and made a squash casserole... wow... Soooo yummy, I ended up having mine with ice cream because it totally tasted like dessert to me!  Beautiful day -- and there won't be many more before cool weather sets in!  Enjoyed some time with friends and then also Lorne's sister and husband stopped in for coffee too - so truthfully every experience was had today, including all 5 senses... Feeling hugs, Tasting squash casserole, Seeing a beautiful masterpiece come to life, Smelling coffee, and Listening to Elton John duets while I painted...