Rachael Sammon Blog ♡: June 2015

Weekend Inspiration Three ♡ TITIAN

Friday, June 26, 2015

Ever since I set eyes on Titian's work, I've been rather smitten. Known for his mastery with colour, Titian's work is powerful, beautiful and dramatic.

Warning: nudity!

One of my absolute favourites is Titian's 'Venus of Anadyomene' or 'Venus Rising from the Sea' (1520).

source: wikipedia

The depth of colour in the sky, the sea, the skin, and of course the hair, coined as 'titian' in colour, are all so complex and beautiful. I also love the light, it's so soft and feathered and luminescent yet balanced with gentle shadows. It's so realistic.

I find this depiction of Venus Rising to be so dramatic yet subtle and understated, in comparison to say, Botticelli's Birth of Venus. The only thing that really hints to this being a depiction of Venus is the clam shell floating on the sea surface.

Titian's women are always similarly portrayed; they're always extraordinarily beautiful, with curvy bodies, dainty graceful faces, and usually with those glossy amber-hued titian locks. I just find them enchanting.

Here is a little look at a few other favourites.♡

Flora (1515)

source: wikipedia

Danaë (1544)

source: wikipedia

Venus of Urbino (1538)

source: wikipedia

Do you look at painters for inspiration? Who is your favourite?

Have a great weekend my loves,
Rachael.♡

positivity

Motivational Monday ♡ OPTIMISM

Monday, June 22, 2015

source: pinterest

This weekend I found an old notepad, the one my fellow classmates all signed on the last day of High School. It's a lovely thing to have kept over the years, full of memories and well wishes. Although I managed to avoid reading it in it's entirety and wasting an hour or so reminiscing, I couldn't resist idly flicking through it with a smile. Then something caught my eye.

I noticed the entry from my favourite teacher and below her lovely message she had signed off with the words 'travel with optimism'.

Such a simple yet beautiful sentiment. It's been playing on my mind ever since.

It's easy to focus on the negative, to be overly practical and to see the potential pitfalls in your plans and in your dreams. I know I often do. But you can choose to be optimistic. You can choose to hope and to strive and to aim for the stars.

So this is just a little Monday reminder from me to you- it will all work out. Good things are going to happen.

Travel with optimism.

Lots of love,
Rachael.♡

Motivational Monday ♡ CREATING YOUR FUTURE

Tuesday, June 16, 2015

source: pinterest

If, in ten years time, you're exactly where you are now, would you be happy? No? Then it's time to change it.

I've been thinking about dreams a lot lately. No I don't mean nightime visions, but those big dreams we have for our lives. I feel like I've lost sight of what I 'want' and because of this I feel rather lost in general; it's almost like I'm meandering along in the dark unsure of which way to turn.

So this week I'm going to set myself a task. I'm going to sit down and I'm going to write down my dreams. Big dreams, little dreams, silly dreams, it doesn't matter; I'm going to give it a lot of thought and just write them all down. That way I'll have a tangible thing to look at and goals to aim for and I can start working out a plan of action.

The best way to predict the future is to create it.

Do you have a list of your dreams? Are you working towards them? I'd love to hear about how you stay on track creating your future. ♡

Have a great week!

Lots of lovely love,
Rachael.♡

artist

Weekend Inspiration Two ♡ TIM WALKER

Saturday, June 13, 2015

Hello lovelies!

This week I thought I'd do a wee post on one of my favourite artists for our weekend inspiration. ♡ The list of photographers I admire is not a short one but I always come back to Tim Walker in times of creative drought. Walker's work is just so magical and beautiful, so soft and dreamy yet so powerful; it never fails to inspire me.

With the weather warming up I thought I'd look to his location work in particular to hopefully rekindle my love of location shoots.

I first fell in love with Walker's work in Vogue-

It blew me away; this was fashion photography like I'd never seen it before. I've always admired fairytale-esque work, whether it's been concept based fine art, or commercial book covers or even personal work (I'm often inspired myself by all things dreamy, mystical and etheral); but seeing it in this space, to this magnitude, was absolutely incredible. Walker's work taps into everything that I admire and dream of- his models drift across different dreamlike scenarios; they fit effortlessly into the story he has created for them. They become their own character, a product of their creative environment but still always the star of it. His sets are works of arts in themselves; sometimes outdoors, sometimes indoors, sometimes bringing the outdoors indoors. Always beautiful, always majestic, always inspiring.

Oh, and did I mention they're all 'real'? Built on set and tweaked to perfection, not composited in post-production. It's incredible to think that for a few hours or even days, these incredible dream worlds actually existed. Breathtaking. ♡

Have a great weekend pretties,
Rachael♡

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positivity

Motivational Monday ♡ SAY YES

Tuesday, June 09, 2015

source: pinterest

"Never say 'no' to adventure. Always say 'yes'. Otherwise you'll lead a very dull life."
- Ian Flemming

You know, I've noticed something in common with a lot of people I look up to. Whether they are photographers, actors, or vloggers, a lot of them say the same thing. At some point in the not-so-distant past, they made a conscious decision to start saying yes. They actively chose to embrace opportunities that arose, to try new things and to reap the rewards. It's amazing to hear so many successful people in totally different fields saying the same thing.

Recently, I've been in a bit of a rut. Things that used to make me happy just don't have the same appeal. I'm not really seeing my friends as much and I'm certainly not trying anything new. I'm essentially hiding away from the world sometimes going days at a time without leaving the house or actually talking to anyone. It's safe and within my comfort zone but it's beginning to become tiresome. I'm exhausted from feeling like this, from being anxious and scared of failure, from worrying and stressing but not actually solving anything. That's not really the way to live, is it?

I feel like there is so much out there I'm not experiencing, so much I want to do yet fear I'll fail at. There are so many things, big and small that I've said 'no' to (or in my case just ignored and hoped for the best) and I've missed out. There are so many great memories I could have made if I weren't so scared or so dedicated to this little bubble of comfort I'm currently wallowing in.

Well not anymore. I'm going to make a change. I'm going to start saying yes.

Big things, little things, new things, scary things. I'm going to start saying yes.

I know I'm going to feel anxious, I know I'll be tempted just back out and go back to hiding under my duvet in my pyjamas on the internet instead of facing something new. But I'm going to say yes anyway. What's the worst that can happen? I try something new and don't like it? Big deal. I'll have given it a go, and that's all that matters.

"Just say yes and you'll figure it out afterwards."
- Tina Fey

Maybe you're reading this and you've already embraced saying yes, that's awesome. I'd love to hear how it's working out. Maybe you're reading this and thinking that this all comes naturally to you and you can't imagine having to consciously decide to try new things, then I envy you. But if you're reading this and thinking that it all sounds rather familiar, that you're feeling almost burdened by the boundries of your comfort zone, that you don't really feel like you're living, that you're becoming so overwhelmed by the monotony you've created to feel safe, then I urge you to start saying yes too.

You never know, right? It could be the start of something great.

I hope you have a great week.

Lots of lovely love,
Rachael.♡

creativity

Weekend Inspiration One ♡ DEVIANTART

Saturday, June 06, 2015

Hello lovelies,

I thought it would be fun to post some 'Weekend Inspiration'! I've been feeling a little stuck creativity wise recently and I thought this would be a great way to rekindle the flames, not only for me but for anyone else who may be feeling the same way.

This week I thought I'd talk about one of my favourite places for inspiration - Deviantart. Now, I know most people grew out of Deviantart years ago (sorry Deviantart) but it's always held a special place in my heart. There is some seriously incredible talent out there on DA but I think the reason I love it the most is that it's where I first believed my dreams were attainable.

Little 16 year old Rachael first found deviantart and was absolutely blown away by the beautiful art work displayed there. Images like these by the insanely talented Lara Jade and Zemotion inspired me no end.

Then, when I found out these girls were around my age, I was genuinely awestruck. It was the first time that I had ever felt that the artists I looked up to were there, just as people, displaying their work and showing their passions. I wanted to be a part of it; I wanted to create work as beautiful and to interact on this platform; to one day be as skilled and successful.

These days my aspirations within DA are not exactly lofty, I'm not striving to make the 'popular' page or to enhance my page views or follower count, in fact I even started from scratch with a new (less teenage) account last year when I started my business. I'm just looking to follow people who inspire me, who motivate me to be better at my craft and whose work and/or personalities just give me the warm fuzzies; for me, deviantart is still my favourite place for this. ♡

It can be super inspiring to see what your peers are up to as well as to look up to the 'greats' and the 'masters'; you never know, these people whose work you're lovingly following may just be the next Penn or Avedon or Beaton.

Here are some of my favourites from DA at the moment, I hope they inspire you like they inspire me.

Queen Kitty