Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day to my adoring fans. Painting is my first love and you by association, naturally!

My studio apartment's getting renovated so I've had to temporarily move into a new studio art residency. Work in progress pictures below, right now I'm working on a large series of giant animals adapting to rooms. I've done them before at 1 foot by 1 foot but now I'm going at them at 4 feet by 4 feet for a challenge! 

Why these parameters? I'm not sure, it's an interesting theme running in my work, like a recurring dream. I had a very particular childhood, my parents were strict and had me copying out the dictionary by age 5. By age 12 they took me out of public school and into private and there I discovered a whole other stressful world of ticking off boxes, meeting expectations and getting that tie on. To this day, I still struggle with things like adulating, getting stuff done like taxes, keeping clothes without paint (never mind the furniture) and what not. I need to feel free, 101% of the time! I've always struggled with conformity, trying to meet societal expectations. Humans are social creatures and they live in a world of rules but within that, I adapt and try not to loose my sense of self, hanging onto that bit of my unique individualism. Each one of these animals represent an individualistic self, special in it's own beautiful way, yet adapted in the shelter of a human environment. Maybe that's what art is to me, a place to be my true self in a world where we must learn to coexist ?😕

I spent the day changing some colours around and adding in second and third coats, making the pinks richer and some flatter, to make the whole look more 3D with shadows and what not. After this I'll start filling in more details, colouring in the objects, adding more textures.

My favourite mug here, it makes me happy and just a little more awake every time I see it.

Been drinking a lot of passion fruit tea which is coincidently also very pink, not a good idea to keep this beside the bucket of paint water, especially when you've also been painting in pink.

Well, it's late. My 2018 Valentine's Day resolution is to update my blog more, job accomplished! Check off that box. Why does painting always get extra super exciting right before bedtime I don't know.