After a flurry of ‘Shuffle’ activity, a wonderful, three-week trip to Sicily and a (not so wonderful) bout of Covid (most certainly picked up on one of the flights home…), I’m finally back in the studio. And I have no idea where to start! Way back at the beginning of June, I was working to […]
A few weeks ago my husband and I visited the tulip fields. I was so inspired by the colours, textures and lines of blooms, that I came home and immediately created a huge stack of printed papers. (I wrote a blog post about this a few weeks back; go and see the Petite Paper Paintings […]
Just last week I reached a big milestone in my 100 ‘Petite Paper Paintings’ project. I finished painting number 75! It’s hard to explain how much of a big deal this is. Doing anything seventy-five times takes a lot of commitment, perseverance and (some days), the ability to talk yourself out of completing the task. […]
When I tell people that I’m an abstract painter and mixed media artist, with a lovely home studio and a thriving art practice, the first question after ‘what type of art do you make?’ is ‘how much time do you spend painting?‘. The truth is, a good portion of my studio time is spent on […]
I’ve been exploring colour, shape and texture my entire adult life. Long before I picked up a paintbrush, I filled my creative cup through fibre arts. Knitting was my first love, learning from my grandmother at the age of six, exploring more complicated patterns and techniques with a best friend through my teen years, making […]
As I’ve been working on my “Petite Paper Paintings” project, I’ve been thinking a lot about how the format of a piece of art influences its creation. It’s no secret that I prefer square panels to rectangles (and when I do paint on a rectangular surface, it’s always in the ‘portrait’ orientation, rather than ‘landscape’). […]
Ever see a painting and immediately know who the artist was, without having to look at the gallery tag or their social media handle? Chances are that’s because the artist has developed a strong and identifiable visual language. For me, slightly off-circular, wonky organic shapes and bright, saturated colours and transparent layers are three of […]
As part of my ‘Petite Paper Paintings’ project, I’ve been making colourful collage papers with my gelli plate. While I love ready-made vintage papers and ephemera, for this project, I decided it was important for all aspects of the work to be created by hand. I’ve had a gelli plate for several years, but before […]
Art supplies are expensive. Yet artists, especially emerging ones, need to use them up (and continually purchase more) in order to increase their skill and hone their voice. This can be tricky when painting sales are down AND one is aware that focusing on selling the work can stifle creativity and lead to ‘safe’ (read […]
“Every decision or non-decision shifts the Universe in a whole new direction.” For the past six months, I’ve been experimenting with different ways of starting a painting. What I’ve discovered is that, like a complex ecosystem, the paintings that result are surprisingly sensitive to initial conditions. Because I paint intuitively, engaging in a ‘call and […]