Yes, this is the third post of the day (edit. actually I miscounted, it was only the second)… highly unusual and I apologize, but I’m having difficulties with some changes I made to my newsletter, so I needed to create this post, to trigger the newsletter to go out!
Hey … how about this, if you sign up for my newsletter at the Culture Days event tomorrow (or if you mention this post) I will give you 10% off any of my original paintings available directly through me. Good for purchases till the end of October.
I am so excited for tomorrow, I will be painting OUTSIDE Burlington City Hall as part of Burlington’s Culture Days events which go from Friday through Sunday. I will be creating a new acrylic painting from noon till it is too dark to mix colors, but I will probably stick around till everything is done at 10pm.
I am nervous because I plan on bringing some paintings to display in my booth (the City is providing a canopy, but it has no walls, so artist friend, Lois Shaw (she will be a guest artist in my studio during the Art in Action Studio Tour on Nov 1 &2) has offered to lend me her grids to hang the paintings. The weather forecast is very good for tomorrow, so at least I don’t have to worry about rain, but I am new to setting up outside, so I am also worried about wind and sun etc. If this event goes well though, I’ll consider applying to one or two outdoor exhibitions next summer.
The truth is, when I initially signed on to do an Acrylic Painting Demonstration, I was very casual about it. After all, isn’t it just like painting in my studio, just outside … with other people watching? I often pack my gear up and go paint in a friend’s studio, a greenhouse, or even a gallery when invited.
Then I heard about all the cool stuff the other Arts and Culture booths and individual Burlington Creatives are going to be doing, or displaying and I realized I really should take advantage of this opportunity to show the Burlington community more of my art.
Somehow though, the idea of having all my stuff outside is a little terrifying. I have roped in my brother and his wife to give me a hand with setting up and taking down everything (endless trips back and forth to the car), but I am so used to having to do all this by myself, that it hasn’t really sunk in yet.
Anyway read the Burlington Post article about what to expect tomorrow, in case you don’t get it delivered. And I hope to see you tomorrow!
I would be lying if I said that I didn’t struggle with my painting yesterday. I made several false starts, changing subject matter etc., but finally – around midnight, back in the comfort of my own studio – I made a good choice, and everything else flowed. I am glad I pushed through, just kept painting until I made it to the other side, because I am very happy with how this little painting turned out.
On the other hand, I have reached a point where pushing to post a new painting (that I am proud of) every day has less benefits, and will be detrimental to my larger goals this week. So, I will be pausing my painting to catch up the business side of my art career, to prepare for my Culture Days event on Friday, to attend to family and household matters … and to catch up on sleep!
Instead, I will re-share links with paintings – that I created earlier in the year – onto Leslie Saeta’s blog for a few days. And when it feels right, I will paint and post new paintings for the challenge. I am not quitting altogether, I am just side-stepping the self-imposed craziness.
As an entrepreneur it is easy to get caught up in the drive to move forward and to forgo/forget about self-care, but it is important for avoiding burn-out.
Good luck to all of you artists who have taken up Leslie’s challenge this month, and thank you to those of you who are following me, and commenting on my blog!
Another variation of my peacock feather- inspired abstractions.
I’m still on the move this weekend, enjoying a little family time, wish they lived closer. I only have a few family members in Canada, but seeing them always means a long car ride. So different from St. Lucia, when you bump into family and friends wherever you go … to the beach, the grocery store, the bank.
I am very distracted here, so I’m going to wait till I get home later today to paint.
Peacock abstraction triptych- 3, 6″x6″, acrylic on canvas
This is the third canvas in the peacock feather-inspired abstract triptych. And here are the canvases all together …
and another combination …
Sorry for the poor quality of the photos, I had to quickly take them with my phone before I left the house. I am traveling with my brother and his wife, visiting family. I brought my paints, so that I can keep up with the challenge.
Peacock abstraction triptych -2, 6″x6″, acrylic on canvas
The second part of this triptych is abstracted, so right now it is all about movement and colour. I painted all 3 canvases at once, as if they were all one continuous image. Tomorrow when I post the third, I will also post a photo of what they look like together.
I was up late tidying my studio last night, in preparation for the interview. It was very casual, one videographer/interviewer, but I used it as motivation to tackle the chaos that was piling up in my studio.
Unfortunately I didn’t get any photos of the interview, but Kune will be using the footage he is taking of several Cultural Makers in Burlington ON to compile a quick promotional video that will be introduced by our Mayor at the Culture Days event I am participating in next Friday, in front of Burlington City Hall.
If you are in the area, save the date, I will be doing an acrylic painting demonstration from noon till it gets too dark to see! There will be bands, & other performances, as well as other arts and culture booths to check out.
Peacock abstraction triptych -1, 6″x6″, acrylic on canvas
I am so excited about this triptych! I am posting the first one day, but there are 3 canvases that go together … the image is abstracted, so you could place them horizontally, vertically, or even separately. They can even be rotated, until you get a composition you like – I will post a few combinations on day 20 of the painting challenge, when I post the third painting.
I have more to say about this triptych, maybe tomorrow, today is a busy day, and at some point I need to clean/organize my studio because a film crew is coming by tomorrow to interview me. More on that later.
Another peacock feather-themed abstraction. I am having fun with these. There is a joyful sense of play, so much potential for new compositions … I have ideas for many other variations I’d like to explore.
Tomorrow morning I will photograph the next mini-series, also peacock feather-inspired. I painted them as a triptych. So in love with how it came out.
I’m looking forward to painting this subject on large canvases. There is an organic, natural flow to the work, that I also have when I paint foliage, it’s like I’m conveying the vitality, movement and life of my subject matter. It is obviously my passion. So, thank you for letting me share it with you.
This peacock feather themed abstraction is based more on yesterday’s painting than on reality, so it’s even looser. And the third painting – which I will post tomorrow – is even more so. I think they look better in person, especially when viewed together.
At this point, I have painted ahead … I’m really having fun running with this theme. I will probably stick with it for a while, there are so many variations I want to try out. That’s all I’ll say for now, but stay tuned!
Surprised? If you have been following my postings each day during the 30 in 30 challenge this month, then you may have been expecting more fruit today. The truth is, as much as I was enjoying working from observation, the still-life was just feeling too … still!
Often in my larger paintings, there are areas that I define/refine more (realism) and areas that I have fun just playing abstractly – in the case of a flower painting, that may be the background. So far during this challenge, it seems I’ve been giving in totally to one impulse in each painting, instead of a yin-yang combination.
With realism, the more you look, the more you see, and it is easy to get carried away on a wave of perfectionism. So, I wanted to take a break and paint something fun, something with more LIFE … and although the inspiration for this painting was another still-life object, my approach has been to imply more movement.
The object that I’m using as inspiration is a mask with peacock feathers. I bought it in Leeds, England in 2001 and it has just been hanging in my studio for years, waiting till I got around to use it as a prop. There is just something about a peacock theme that I love, maybe it is because there is so much blue and green and those are colours I use a lot in my painting. Maybe it’s because turquoise has always been my favourite colour.
It could also be because of the patterning, one of my favourite art movements is Art Nouveau – decorative and romantic, the goal was to bring beauty into our everyday lives. That’s an ideal I can get behind.
Embracing and inviting love and joy into our living and working environments does not mean a rejection – or ostrich-like attitude – of the ugly truths that also exist in all our lives. It is a conscious choice to counter-balance those truths.
One way for you to share more beauty with the world, would be to share my Facebook page! Thank you to those of you who have recently started following, commenting and liking. As my work does vary, the more people who get to see it means the faster each painting will connect with someone who just has to have it in their life. And of course, that means I can continue creating more art.
So, I really appreciate all of you who not only follow to see what I might paint next, but also tell your friends about my art!
BLUE ROOTS ART STUDIO – acrylic paintings of Caribbean & Canadian landscape, flowers & foliage. Burlington, ON, Canada. 905-639-3419
