This year has been a slow year for painting. During the pandemic I felt like I was hanging onto my brushes for dear life, but ever since then life has sped up again, and creative work slowed down. It’s not always what I want, but at the same time it means more of the work has moved from my hands to my head, thinking through concepts before finding the time to put them onto canvas. I feel like this has helped me find a voice that’s deeper and more considered in my work.
Spring & Summer: Pebbles
The dark winter months produced very little, but as the trees finally started to sprout some new leaves, the paints also came back to life for me. We had a wet summer, and pebbles, streams, and rain were on my mind as I explored loose shapes and adding depth and reflections to my abstract works.
Late Summer: Lush Greens & a Commission
With some warmer weather coming in late August and early September, darker greens and pinks came into my work. I’m always amazed at how much the seasons influence my colors, but I don’t mind it. Even though we live in a city, it’s nice to be connected to nature. This piece, with many many layers, was done as a commission for a dear friend of mine living across the globe. It’s on its way to her home now and hope it’ll be a good fit.
At the same time I have decided not to do as many commissions anymore - I love doing them, but they’re also a little stressful (Will they like it? Will I want to make what they want?) and with work being insane at the moment, I think it may be healthier to take a step back.
On my Easel now
This piece on the left I absolutely adore and is a work I’ve been working on for ages. It’s had about six iterations, which are all layered somewhere underneath there, but finally is finding its ‘soul’. I couldn’t tell you what inspired me, but it feels like a culmination of the work I’ve done this year so far, and it feels very satisfying. On the right is a piece I made as a gift for another dear friend. She’s got such a caring and vibrant personality, and I wanted to see if I could capture that in a painting.
What’s next? I’ve bought two large square canvases. They’re primed and ready to go, but I feel with fall coming in for real (?) now, I need a bit of time to settle on the color palette. Stay tuned, I suppose.
