The Shape of Water

After a long absence, I'm back on my Blog.  I have decided to intersperse writing helpful tutorial, sharing advice and stories along with Journal type posts, sharing what I'm up to in the studio, with behind the scenes pictures, on a more regular basis.

Back in March, I hit a bit of a wall - you could call it a dark night of the soul if you wish because I stopped painting for weeks and weeks, and at times I honestly didn't know if I'd ever pick up a brush again.  Everything felt tired and done.  Did you ever feel that way about things you create?

It was a tough few weeks, I questioned where I was going in my business, and wondered who I was without art - was it even possible to imagine a life without it?  

If we resist these times of change though, it becomes harder - if we soften and allow ourselves to let go, we can get through the pain and journey through to the sweet new beginnings that await us on the other side.

I had no idea I would ever make art that looked this way.

My friend encouraged me to go back to the studio, and to just have fun.  I took her advice, found a wooden panel and played with my acrylics and some flow medium.

The piece at the top, which I created while thinking about the feeling of water was where it all began.  I discovered that I was enjoying the concept of making art for fun, using the theme of water to explore mark making, shapes and texture.

Painting this way is completely different from when I paint in an illustrative way.  I am allowing my deepest, subconscious feelings to manifest on paper.  I allowed myself to really immerse myself in the shape of water, the feeling of water and the energy and movement of it.  These pictures are the happy result.

I've been surprised by so many kind comments on my social media, I honestly wasn't expecting them.  In some ways I was nervous to share this new work, I think when you have worked in a certain way for so long, people come to expect that and this was a complete departure for me to suddenly be sharing abstracts.

I'm still curious to explore this more intuitive way of painting.

I've done a couple of new vlogs too, all about this process.  I shared about what happens when you fall out of love with your art (Episode 13) and what happened next (episode 14).  You can watch them over on my You Tube Channel here

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