Earth Goddess Healing, body painting photo shoot

Back in September I managed to squeeze one more Earth Goddess body painting in before the season got cold and altogether not conducive for body art modeling and photography. And it was my first and probably only couple's photoshoot that I will be including in my series.


(Work in progress shot, painting Kelly.) Also, please read the blog entry she wrote, reflecting upon what it was like participating in my body art series as well as her thoughts and feelings about body image and learning to love the skin your in.


(work in progress shot, painting Sam)

My friends Kelly and Sam have been through something remarkable together. If you spend anytime with them, the way they are around each other, the way they speak, laugh and feel would make it plain as day that they are strong and more importantly, made stronger by their love of one another and the life they chose together.

When Kelly was diagnosed with cancer her life and the life of her wife, Sam, began to change.



They are still on a journey of healing and I was honored to momentarily step in and take part when they asked if they could be painted and photographed together for my Earth Goddess series to commemorate the end of Kelly's chemo treatment.



I think that these photos do catch a glimmer of their experience, and their exuberance for eachother  but I feel they also speak about the condition of Mother Earth.  I often feel that the prevalence of cancer and the many other diseases plaguing mankind can also be seen reflected by the condition of the Earth as it battles to remain balanced in the face of pollution, deforestation, genetic modification and more. Many people believe that the Earth is too big to fail, that our actions are insignificant to the planet's health but there is plenty of evidence that begs to differ.
As above so below.



And all I know is, the path of healing is most effective when loving, helping hands are there to lend support. In these photos I can glimpse Mother Earth's own journey towards healing, which of course is guided by her lovers, her protectors.

And so must it be.

With Love and Light,
-Chelsea Rose 

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Earth Goddess body art in the Columbia River Gorge

I am FINALLY getting around to posting about the body painting and photo shoot for my Earth Goddess series that I completed back in August!

This was the 14th body painting I have completed for my Earth Goddess series. I had such a wonderful time with my model as we picnicked and painted on the bank of the Columbia River Gorge in one of Oregon's clothing optional state parks, Rooster Rock. 

As usual it took me around 4 hours to do the full body painting. 

Here are some of the finished photos from the shoot: 

My model, being an adventurous soul, was most willing to get into the water for some shots. I love the results! And I am SUPER excited to learn that the body paint held up relatively well in the water and so now I am dreaming of an entire new "Water Goddess" series. But I am getting a little ahead of myself. I feel I am pretty much finished with my Earth Goddess series so now I must get serious about finding a gallery that will show the finished images, and also start putting together a book for self publishing. 

I hope you enjoyed these photos, more soon. 

Much love,

-Chelsea Rose 

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Earth Goddess UPDATE

So it has been quite some time since I have shared with you the progress of my Earth Goddess body art photography series. So far I have painted 13 women for the series resulting in 10 photo shoot sessions.

Scrolling back through my blog posts It looks like the last photoshoot I shared on my blog was my Triple Goddess session which was my 6th photoshoot in the series( the first time I had painted and photographed three women in one session.)

So picking up where I left off, My 7th photoshoot was with the gorgeous India-born, Portland raised model and artist Maulie:

I was quite excited to have the chance to add an Indian woman to my Earth Goddess series, thus broadening the diversity represented.  And this location was one that I had picked out from the very beginning as a definite spot for an Earth Goddess shoot, but it had taken some time to find a model who was willing to trudge up the long vertical hike through soggy cliff sides and precarious foot bridges.

Maulie proved amazing despite the fact that it was early May, thus resulting in a cold rainy morning in the mountains which was certainly not the most comfortable time to be nude in the wild.

And here are a couple of the finished photos:

My 8th body painting/photo shoot session was with amazing Sonoko, a Japanese born, Hawaiian raised  intellectual and all around babe.

I painted and photographed her on Sauvie Island on the nude side of the beach during an intensely bright day in June. The harsh direct lighting proved a bit of a challenge during the photo shoot but we still came away with an amazing amount of breathtaking photos. And Sonoko later reported having some super crazy, spirally tan lines!

Check out a couple of the finished photos:

My 9th body painting/photoshoot session was with a strong and vibrant Puerto Rican woman from New York.  I photographed her in one of my most favorite spots along the northern oregon coast:

I particularly enjoy how she is connecting with the earth here as she runs her fingers through the sand.

And then I really enjoyed the way her hands worked to collaborate with the rocky horizon line.

My most recent body painting/photoshoot session was with super mama and model Monis Ayala:

I painted her inside a canopy we set up for some much needed shade and privacy during a particularly sunny and crowded day at Rooster Rock state park.

Luckily within the clothing optional section we found plenty of privacy as we made our way through the reeds and berry bushes till we came upon shady forest paths.

Her son was due any day, her womb so full and yet she had lots of energy and strength and was able endure the long hot hike like a true champion. I feel she really reflected the amazing rasiliance and beauty of the Mother Goddess / Mother Earth.

So whats next?

Well I am having a particularly hard time casting for a couple of the last photo shoots I have planned. I am in dire need of a pregnant black woman and a elderly black woman. I have had no luck casting for either of these models through my usual channels so I will have to find new ways of reaching out. If you know of someone who fits what I described above please feel free to send them my way. Otherwise, wish me luck!

Much love always,
-Chelsea Rose 

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Vector Feature and recent paintings

Its been an exciting spring.

I am the Featured artist for this month's publication of The Vancouver Vector!

Read the interview here.

I love the Vancouver arts community and humbly thank them for their support and presence.

And I have been so inspired as of late that I have taken to painting anything within reach including mini canvas, wood blocks, broken skateboard decks and even card board. I have begun listing these treasures for sale in my etsy shop, so check them out here!

A chaotic view of my art space.

Been really going a lil nuts on the skateboards latley.

This acrylic painting was done on a 3.5"x9" wood block

Acrylic painting on a 7"x12" piece of corrugated cardboard.

Another painting on cardboard I did in blue acrylic and ink.
The art print next to it is a collaboration between two other awesome pacific northwest painters: Sarah Hoyt and Davey Cadaver !


I am also revving up my gears to get a few Earth Goddess body art paintings/photoshoots done for spring so will be updating on that shortly!

Best wishes,
-Chelsea Rose

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New painting and new news

I finished this painting in January and have been meaning to post a blog about it for a long while now, but the universe had other plans. So here we are!

"Urban Goddess"
12"x16" original acrylic painting by Chelsea Rose

She started out as a pen and ink sketch on canvas:


And then I added the first layers of acrylic color:


Worked out the details:

 Worked to add some highlights and shadow to the sky. Fogged out the cityscape to give it a bit of far away depth.

So thats my newest painting!

Lets see...what else is new?

I got some new post cards printed:

Its double sided.  Aren't they purdy!? Danny Ebru designed them for me. One side for my acrylic painting and the other for my body art photography. So for those who are planning on making a purchase or two from our online shop will be seeing these in with their orders along with a goodie or two :)

Speaking of body art, I recently released another photo from my "Earth Goddess" photoshoot with the lovely Asima:

This body painting and photo shoot was done in the Rooster Rock nudist beach and trails situated along the Columbia River Gorge.  See more photos and read about the experience here. I am excited to feel the end of winter, as spring has just begun to wake up here in Portland. Plans are being made for my next "Earth Goddess" body art session and I can hardly wait. So keep a look out for updates on that score.

To pass the wintery hermit time I have been playing with screen printing more and more:

Here are some still wet off the press screen prints over adhesive vinyl that I hand painted with acrylic to get the yummy colors you see.

...and here they are after being dried and cut out. I am selling these stickers on etsy now. Check out the sticker section of our shop! I have also been playing with screen printing on fabric again so there may be some shirts and tote bags popping up soon.

So thats my update.

Thanks for the continuing support and inspiration, world!

Sending love and light,
-Chelsea Rose 

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Mushroom Goddess acrylic painting and other news!

Hi there,
I am back to share my newest acrylic painting:



"Mushroom Goddess, a glistening encounter"
12"x16" original acrylic painting on canvas
by Chelsea Rose

...It all began with a hasty post-it note sketch:

Then it progressed onto canvas:

And began to morph:

Details began to surface:

And then she began to glow :)



I had fun painting her, but especially enjoyed creating the background.

So thats that.


Here is a recent photo of me in my lil art studio. You can see the finished Mushroom Goddess, freshly varnished and all. Behind me is my newest work in progress.

My next work in progress is a painting inspired by the Hindu Goddess Kali:

Here she is, as a pen and ink drawing in my sketch book.

And then onto canvas:


First bits of color! 

...Thats it for now, but I will keep up with taking the Work In Progress photos so I can share the creative process from start to finish.

In other news, I had a couple of my paintings in a local art opening at The Wallz Gallery:



This was for their "Locals Only" show. The gallery is mainly focused on spotlighting urban art/ street art which is a direction I have just begun to explore a bit with my artwork.  But more on that journey later- perhaps I will cover that in a new post coming shortly :)

I hope everyone is enjoying summer.
Mine has been filled with art vending at local markets and fairs:

I hope to catch up with you at one of these upcoming markets in Portland Oregon but if you are far far away then go ahead and check out my online shop.

Sending Love and Light,
...will update again soon, I promise.

Blessings,
-Chelsea Rose 

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