A style...

Recently I had the opportunity to be part of two local Show of the organizations I belong to in Olds. The Wellspring Visual ArtNetwork one at the end of October and the Olds Art Club one at the beginning of this month.

While painting the last pieces for the Shows I realized that as a Mom, Children's/Youth Minister and Artist in the process of getting my ducks in a row to be more professional sometimes you can demand more than what anyone else would expect from you. Usually, when I've come to the point of almost not enjoying my time in the studio I simply stop, though I continue doing my due diligence: sketching, studying my future projects, stocking supplies, etc. This time I changed that trend. So, instead of leaving the pieces that I was working on incomplete, waiting to be revealed in the next show I finished 2 of them. The result? Somehow by ignoring my set "normal" I was able to apply the technics that I had in mind, the tones, the lights, strokes and lines that  for a while I wanted to mix but somehow I hadn't... maybe because I had not pushed enough to see the end result till the next time I would paint and by then my instinct had gone dormant.

This makes me think that, just like with anything else, when we stop doing what we are supposed to do (thinking that we can carry on the next day) somehow we loose that instinctive gut feeling that most of the time is based on what we have studied or observed (in Art) & that has processed the steps to be followed so it's materialized.



This last piece is like a breakthrough, not only because there were patterns that were broken but because there were some new ones that were created. Having a glimpse of this developing style is exciting and can't wait to develop it more whether there is an upcoming Show or not.

 "Fall Berries" was a fun project to work on, because of what it meant but also because I enjoyed every part of the process, almost to the point of doubting if I wanted to finish it or not, since there were some steps in which it looked complete... maybe I'll do those steps to completion in another piece.

Hope you enjoy!

Cattails

I love driving, knowing that you are going somewhere always excites me!

The great thing about driving in a country where you can see the change of seasons is remarkable, that is not even considering that the views change according to the sunlight and the time of the day. 

The pond by the South overpass in Innisfail has been a continuous source of inspiration for me. My son and I were coming back home from his music lessons and we were going out for a "Mom-son date" when we spotted the geese in this specific area, so we had to stop since we knew that could be the last sighting before winter would come. After taking some pictures of the geese and my son playing with the long grass, I noticed the beautiful cattails that seemed to be saying "Hey, watch me! Pick me!" so I did. 

When getting the canvas ready to paint them, I thought of going for a more realistic approach. But just like the cattails when taking the photo, other colours and approach were asking me too: "Pick me". I am glad I did! I was able to add some drawing lines and effects with pastel & charcoal that complemented the high relief of the cattails. 

What was the even more surprising factor of this painting? It was not the fact that I liked it, 'cause I did and a lot! But the fact that once in the WVANA Show this past weekend, it was bought in the first 30 minutes! 

What did I learn? Sometimes you gotta let your right brain take over the original plan 'cause you will have fun in the process and guess what? you'll be able to implement the technique you've been studying and loving experimenting with your Art. Hope when you see this piece you like it too :)

Cheers to your right brain that will capture and interpret with freshness the landscape you see over and over as you drive the same roads everyday!