Today’s painting was created in my Hamilton studio, on the second floor of the building at 337 Ottawa St. N … around the corner from 337 Sketch Gallery. There are a few artists & photographers renting space there, but a lot of available space in case any of you are looking.
I was lucky enough to be able to rent a room short term for the project I had in mind – I’m calling it a “self-hosted residency”, for the artist whose kids are still too young for her to apply for a proper residency.
Despite the crazy time frame (on a good day that would be the hours my youngest was in school, minus the commute back & forth), I was prolific during that time.
I thought I would show you some of the stages that this painting went through … especially because I know there are a number of artists following along.
To be honest, when I started with the pthalo blue background, I intended to let the wispy bits of the feathers fade into the blue … but then I mixed up a nice buttery colour and I just got carried away cutting away the negative shapes around the wreath shape.
That left me with a blue wreath floating on a light background. So then I got the idea to add a pattern, to help integrate the different elements of the image … and I started with circles.
How about a wreath floating, on a stoney riverbed?
I filled in some of the circles, creating depth, making them less like circles. In fact some looked a little like … eggs. After all, I’m painting peacock feathers … so eggs aren’t a stretch.
Up until this point I had been flipping the painting around and around as I went, not quite sure I wanted to assign a right-side-up to it.
As I played with the idea that the stones could actually be eggs, I really began working on the shadow. That’s when the orientation became obvious to me.
I decided to leave room for multiple interpretations of this image.
The research I have done on peacock imagery shows that over the years it has been used as a symbol of immortality, resurrection, rebirth.
Every day until Art in the Park, Oakville which is on August 3, I will be posting a new painting from my peacock series. Join my e-mail list so you don’t miss any!
If you are already subscribed, and haven’t read yesterday’s notice … the daily e-mails are only for this week, after that it goes back down to 1-4x/mth!
If this painting catches your eye, and you can imagine it in your home or office, e-mail donna@bluerootsartstudio.com
Here are some work-in-progress images of today’s painting, Chorus Line. I’ve been asked about my process for this peacock feather-inspired series, and I think this collage sums it up.
As a painter, especially one who has a background in painting realism, the appeal of abstraction is the spontaneity of it. You have to surrender to the flow, live in the moment & really listen to your intuition. Depending on the artist, this can either be therapeutic, or terrifying!
Quite frankly, this method of pushing & pulling paint, building the image up in layers, is actually my natural way of working.
Except for rare occasions when the project calls for it, I prefer not to start with a precise drawing, but to lay in blocks of colour as I establish the composition. Then I refine & refine … and the longer I hang on to my reference photos, the more realistic the painting will be in the end.
If I’m feeling bold and confident, I ditch the reference photos earlier, and let the painting take me on a journey of discovery. I love ending up somewhere I could never have predicted … it’s in those exciting moments where you’re off the map – when you take on great risk (like when I glazed quinacridone violet over phalo green in the center image above) – that amazing, new things show up on the canvas.
There’s a painter’s high that happens when you paint intuitively, and it works out … that feeling of achievement, of having CREATED something original.
With realism, there is a smug satisfaction from having developed the skills to be able to translate a 3D image or even just a concept, into a 2D painting, using your brushes & paint. The longer you work at it, the better an illusionist you become.
But with abstraction, the lines of reality that you were clinging to to control the chaos, are no longer there … the safety net is gone, the boundries are gone … you can go anywhere!
The elements & principles of design remain the same, so if you have a firm grip on them, you can go back & forth between realism and abstraction at will, or by whimsy.
They are after all, just the alphabet of this language of painting … not the message.
I may not bring this painting to Art in the Park Oakville, I worked on my booth layout yesterday & this one did not make it in.
However, if you’re interested in it, let me know, I can always bring it along.
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!
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.
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.
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 …
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.
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!
In 2009 I started painting a series simply called Hibiscus & Banana, and it all started with a close-up of a red hibiscus flower.
The image came to mind immediately when I tried to select a flower that represented St. Lucia to me personally.
Technically, and culturally, the rose and the marguerite are the National flowers of St. Lucia. However, they were not as abundant, and did not have as much of a visual impact on me.
In fact, the association may persist for me because my family has always grown hibiscus bushes in the garden, so I saw them every day as a child. However, they also grew profusely around the island in those days.
Here is my artist statement from an exhibition a few years ago …
Hibiscus, Bananas ‘n More
Summer 2009, I went home to the Caribbean island of St. Lucia in search of reference material for my latest series of acrylic paintings. I wanted to focus on what I felt were two of the most iconic images of St. Lucian plant-life … the banana tree and the hibiscus flower. As a child, the banana industry drove the local economy, and although tourism has upstaged it, the island is still covered in banana trees – farmed, wild and decorative. Islanders take pride in being able to eat off of the land, and most properties boast a variety of fruit trees. On the other hand, the hibiscus flowers were harder to find. In recent years many plants, including the one at the end of my parents’ porch, were lost to the pink mealybug, and drought. The best specimens I found were on the grounds of hotels and restaurants. In 2010, I travelled to both St. Lucia and Trinidad, and have since expanded the series to include croton and flamboyant images.
I paint living plants interacting with their environment, sun shining through the leaves, wind blowing the petals, other plants in the background adding contrast. I try to express the atmosphere, a specific moment in time, and my feelings about the place. Although my paintings are representational, my actual focus is on the abstract rhythms of Nature. I play with the organic shapes and vibrant colours to create uplifting and engaging images. I paint because I love the creative process, however it is my hope that the finished paintings bring joy and beauty into our everyday lives.
Although I have gone on to paint other imagery, every now and then I find myself returning to this motif. I just took a look at my records and out of the last 100 paintings I’ve done (not including small daily paintings), about 1/5th of them feature hibiscus flowers!
The interesting thing about hibiscus flowers is that I encounter them here in Canada all the time too … they can be found year-round in green-houses, or as potted house-plants, and in the warmer weather they are available as large flowering plants from anywhere that sell plants (even grocery stores!). And that’s just the traditional hibiscus, not counting the hardier varieties that are now available in colder climates.
I think the allure of the hibiscus flower is partly due to the bright colour … certainly that cheerful red is why I have been painting hibiscuses lately, as a weapon to combat the winter blues!
Subconsciously, I think we are also drawn to hibiscus flowers, like so many birds and insects, because of the erotic design. The generous petals open wide like out-flung limbs promising an embrace, but really are just there to draw attention to the pistil, to play their part in the survival of the species.
For all their glorious beauty, hibiscus blooms only last a day or two, and are delicate, which is why they do not show up as often in tropical bouquets.
In fact, hibiscus flowers are a common choice for tattoos, especially in women, symbolizing delicate beauty, fragility, as well as love, passion, and a laid back life-style.
I mentioned in my statement earlier, finding hibiscus flowers growing mostly at hotels and restaurants. That is because even during the dry season when the general public will hold off on watering their flowering plants, these businesses have to try to keep them alive. They help create “atmosphere”, and it is not just that they are decorative and make the place more attractive to patrons.
It also has to do with the connotation of rest and relaxation, “fun in the sun”, and everything else positive the world thinks of when they think of a tropical vacation.
Images of pretty girls with hibiscus flowers in their hair (which is only ever done when posing for a photograph), or as part of a pool-side scene with umbrella-drinks and lounge chairs.
I have painted hibiscuses in a range of colours – pinks, yellows, oranges, reds, and white, and I think of them as portraits. I try to paint the individual flower, or grouping of flowers, with its unique environment, rather than a generic, formulaic version.
While there may be stylistic similarities tying all my hibiscus paintings together, there are so many different kinds of hibiscus plants, and so many ways to present them – varying the positions, backgrounds, lighting, stage in cycle of life, painting techniques and media etc. – that I am sure I will return to this motif time and time again, and I will find something new to explore each time.
You can find some more of my hibiscus paintings here.
The first session of painting classes in my studio is coming to an end, so I’m offering another session, 8 weeks this time. Thursdays again, and now Sunday morning as well.
Happy Valentine’s Day! Here is a little something I’ve been working on, to show my appreciation to those who support me in this love affair I have with painting.
Hot off the easel … ok, on the easel right now. This painting, and a few others that I’ve been working on since my last post, will go to the photographer soon, then I’ll post the official photographs when he gives them to me.
As you can see, I’ve continued exploring the blue patterning that started out in my fernscapes and peacock abstractions. I’m having fun trying out different ways to incorporate it in my painting. In this case I started out just placing random strokes of blue, but quickly saw the potential for a floral pattern and so took it in that direction.
This is the first time the background is so separate from the rest of the image, but I’m enjoying the boldness of this painting, it’s strong, cheerful and romantic.
If you have fallen in love with this painting, and want to bring it home to live with you, be the first to contact me about it at donna@bluerootsartstudio.com.
“Watching”, original acrylic painting by Donna Grandin, prize for Christmas Contest 2014
I’d just like to announce the winner of the painting for my first ever painting give-away. Actually, I just pulled my son aside during our Christmas celebrations to do the draw. Here’s the video …
Congratulation to the winner! Here is a better photo of the painting ….
Watching, 4″x5″, acrylic on canvas, Donna Grandin
Enjoy the rest of your Holidays!
Donna Grandin
Blue Roots Art Studio
BLUE ROOTS ART STUDIO – acrylic paintings of Caribbean & Canadian landscape, flowers & foliage. Burlington, ON, Canada. 905-639-3419
