Tag Archives: abstract art

Available Paintings, Exhibitions

Carnival triptych – peacock series

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peacock series
Carnival , 16″x20″, acrylic on canvas, ©2015 Donna Grandin. $1600. for triptych

As a West Indian, the link between peacock feathers and Carnival is an obvious one to me. In fact, the 2015 St. Lucia Carnival parade was just a few days ago, and some people joke that the costumes these days are just feathers held together with string!

peacock series
Carnival 2, 16″x20″, acrylic on canvas, ©2015 Donna Grandin. $1600. for triptych

For both natives and visitors, Carnival is a big celebration, and some revelers see it as an opportunity to show off their hot bodies, especially if they have worked all year to achieve the look.

Others think of it as a time to put on fancy dress and go shake their tail feathers, to dance and sweat off the worries of the world. For a few rum-filled days they get to escape reality and get on bad with any and everyone. And regardless of what body type they are, those feathers are their passport to this fantasy.

peacock series
Carnival 3, 16″x20″, acrylic on canvas, ©2015 Donna Grandin. $1600. for triptych

This triptych is about that bacchanal, it is reminiscent of all the glitz & glamour of feathers, beads, rhinestones, body paint and just general decoration. And of course the movement, the rhythmic swaying, gyrating and grinding, that is integral to Carnival.

peacock series
Carnival, 16″x60″ triptych, acrylic on canvas, ©2015. $1600.00

I am going to post a new painting every day until Art in the Park, Oakville, which is on Aug 3. E-mail donna@bluerootsartstudio.com if something catches your fancy.

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Available Paintings

Boudoir – abstract peacock painting

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Boudoir - peacock feather painting
Boudoir, 24″x36″, acrylic on canvas, ©2015 Donna Grandin. $1400.

This is one of my favourite paintings right now, but I’m not sure you will get the full effect looking at it online. There’s more subtlety to it in real life, it is feminine without being obnoxiously so, and exudes a lush, luxurious and exotic mood.

There is something of all of that  inherent in peacock imagery – long before I created this painting, pretty girls have been wearing peacock feathers to enhance their own beauty.  However, for my peacock series I really am just taking the motif for a drive, with no particular destination in mind … trying to remain in the moment, painting intuitively. So I am as surprised and delighted as the next person with what evolves from these painting sessions.

There is a sensuous, erotic quality to this painting that I’ve never noticed in my work before (although, a certain St. Lucian artist-writer did touch on it when reviewing my solo exhibition “Floravision”), words like passion, seduction and warmth come to mind when I try to describe the mood.

Although it would enliven any room, for some reason I really envision it in a bedroom … which is why I just had to name it “Boudoir”.  I think it will really appeal to someone who wants to create a romantic atmosphere, someone who would like to “feather” their nest, create a cozy nook full of inspiration and excitement, as well as comfort, safety and indulgence.

Ok, I know I’ve gone overboard with the adjectives in this post, but there is something about this painting that makes me want to gush …

I will probably bring to Art in the Park, Oakville on August 3rd, I hope you can see it in person.

E-mail donna@bluerootsartstudio.com if this painting speaks to you!

 

Available Paintings, Exhibitions

Flow – a peacock feather-inspired abstract painting

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Flow, 24"x30", acrylic on canvas, ©2015 Donna Grandin. $1200.
Flow, 24″x30″, acrylic on canvas, ©2015 Donna Grandin. $1200.

If this painting looks a little familiar, it’s because it has evolved over the last year … it started as a demonstration, at a live painting event.

You can read about it in this earlier blog post, where I even created a video to show the process thus far! The initial inspiration was a peacock feather mask that I’d bought 10 years earlier, in combination with the live music … it was the first time I painted at a public event like this (Culture Days), and the energy was awesome.

In fact I had so much fun at Culture Days, I’m doing it again Sept 26 & 27 this year.  More on that in another post.

DonnaGrandin-Intheflow-f
In the Flow … wip

Although there was so much I loved about this painting, it just never felt quite finished … that could be because I’m accustomed to working a week to several weeks on a painting, so several hours of painting didn’t seem enough. And partly because although I’d designed the “eyes” as if they were notes on a music sheet, I just didn’t like the way they created a single line , pulling the viewers’s eye across the image and out.

I called the painting “In the flow” originally … and for some reason, it just seemed to remain in flux, there was always something more to do to it, so in between other paintings, I’d keep going back to it.

Eventually, in a new space, I decided to work on it to completion, and what emerged is this painting … “Flow”.  In this version I really played on the aquatic tendencies of the original, and I’m quite happy with the result.

I will be bringing it to Art in the Park Oakville on Aug 3, my booth is #143, and I hope you’ll be able to come out and see it in person!

Unless of course, one of you wants to claim it before then … if so, just e-mail donna@bluerootsartstudio.com

 

 

Available Paintings

Abstracted landscape painting – Fernscape 2

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Fernscape 2, 24"x48", acrylic on canvas, ©2014 Donna Grandin. $1800.00
Fernscape 2, 24″x48″, acrylic on canvas, ©2014 Donna Grandin. $1800.00
I’ve been blogging for a little while now, and depending on my mood, sometimes my writing can get very personal, or intense and other times when I’m in a rush, I keep it brief, just stating the facts so that I have a record of what’s going on in my art business.To be honest, I really enjoy blogging – putting my words and my images together – once I am able to focus, to get into the zone, it’s pure bliss for me. And when I hear back from you, and realize that my words have landed on fertile ground … I get a little thrill.

My favourite thing in the world is to really connect with another person …. you know, those deep, meaningful conversations that go on for hours. In the 90’s I lived for those long, juicy hand-written letters my friends and I exchanged when I first left home to go to school in Canada.

Writing a blog is a more public arena though, and I cannot see your faces to read your expressions, your body language … so I appreciate it when you comment here, or e-mail me. When you participate in the conversation, it evolves, is becomes more and more interesting to all of us.

So, please continue to send me your questions, comments, suggestions, requests!

Ok, I’m going off topic. What I wanted to say is, after all this time blogging, it’s only just occurred to me that I have NOT been writing an individual blog post for each painting that I complete and add to this website!!!!

I also realized, that I should be adding a Paypal button to these posts – such a fundamental thing in this age of online sales – I feel like a such a “ninny-headed-nincompoop”!

This painting was inspired by the first Fernscape painting I did, I’m still really in love with it, and hope to do many more. In between the two, I did work on the peacock-inspired paintings, and I think you can see some of that influence in this painting. It’s looser, more whimsical. I pretty much painted it freehand, just used a chalk at the beginning to lay in some flowing lines.

There is a happy, fun aspect to this painting because of the abstraction, you can feel the rhythm. It’s not as serious and laboured as a purely realistic painting can be, and I think some days we all need some of that lightness.

I especially feel that now that there is a wicked winter chill in the air – I can hear the wind howling outside as I write. My intention was to start a new series of Fernscapes this month, but I’m hesitating – usually when the winter blues hit I counteract them with bright sunny paintings.

So, I may push the Fernscape series onto the backburner for a little while. I have another idea that I might pursue first.

Meanwhile … I’m preparing for my ART CLASSES to start on Jan 15 !

30 in 30 challenge, Available Paintings, Painting in a day, Small paintings

Surreal Garden – 30 in 30 painting challenge, #30

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Surreal Garden, 8"x8", acrylic on canvas, © 2014 Donna Grandin
Surreal Garden, 8″x8″, acrylic on canvas, © 2014 Donna Grandin

No, you did not enter the Twilight Zone! I painted this playful little piece a few months ago when I discovered paint markers, and I wanted to explore pattern. It was fun, but I was not sure how it fit in with my body of work, so I tucked it away somewhere in my studio.

There was a point when I was embarrassed by my “experiments”, and after photographing them, I would gesso over the image and reuse the canvas. Now when I look back, I realize that these little paintings are stepping stones, and seen individually as little islands they may not make a lot of sense, but from a distance (or rather, in time) we can see how they link up to create a path.

My work, in general has been evolving in the last 2 years, and I have been laying down more and more stepping stones. Finally, I am starting to connect them, and I am really excited about the direction I am moving in. There is still a lot of work to do, but I have a vision now of where I want to go.

Eventually I will do a post to show the progression of this idea, but for now let me just say that this “Surreal Garden” full of alien looking plants was the step before the peacock paintings.

Stay tuned!

 

 

30 in 30 challenge, Available Paintings, Painting in a day, Small paintings

Peacock abstraction triptych -3, 30 paintings in 30 days, #20

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Peacock abstraction triptych- 3, 6"x6", acrylic on canvas
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 …

Peacock triptych - combination 2

and another combination …

Vertical combination of Peacock Abstraction triptych

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.

This is the final photo of the whole triptych:

Peacock abstraction triptych, 6"x18", acrylic on canvas, ©2014 Donna Grandin
Peacock abstraction triptych, 6″x18″, acrylic on canvas, ©2014 Donna Grandin

 

 

 

 

30 in 30 challenge, Available Paintings, Painting in a day, Small paintings

Peacock abstraction triptyck – 2, 30 paintings in 30 days, #19

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Peacock abstraction triptych -2, 6"x6", acrylic on canvas
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.

 This is the final triptych:

Peacock abstraction triptych, 6"x18", acrylic on canvas, ©2014 Donna Grandin
Peacock abstraction triptych, 6″x18″, acrylic on canvas, ©2014 Donna Grandin

 

30 in 30 challenge, Available Paintings, Painting in a day, Small paintings

Peacock abstraction triptych 1 – 30 paintings in 30 days, #18

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Peacock abstraction triptych -1, 6"x6", acrylic on canvas
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.

 

 This is the final triptych:

Peacock abstraction triptych, 6"x18", acrylic on canvas, ©2014 Donna Grandin
Peacock abstraction triptych, 6″x18″, acrylic on canvas, ©2014 Donna Grandin

 

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