Another Transitional Painting: Life by Design

Yay! Yay! Yay!  That’s just how I feel about this, my 2nd crossover painting (started in 2014 and finished in 2015).

It’s called “Life by Design“, in honour of all I’m living as a full-time artist this year and all I’m writing about in my new series of articles by the same name.

The figure is one I quickly sketched in Vienna during a live model drawing session, soon after learning about the Zentangle® movement.  When I saw her on my parents’ fridge at Christmas, I just had to make a copy to incorporate her on this work in progress (6-8 layers of paint waiting for an inspiration).

There’s just something about her that makes me smile – it’s that mix of playful, flirty, shy, excited, and brave stance as she looks into a future that’s totally hers to design. I can almost hear her say “Oh Goody! Now what?” It’s  also her special blend of simplicity through fluid lines and complexity through the multitude of patterns and experiences that make her completely unique in this world.

I spent several hours painting her while listening to the 2015 Thriving Artist Summit (a free series of inspirational and educational 1-hour talks online that runs daily until January 18th – highly recommended for any artist). This painting is definitely infused with all that empowering energy.

I glazed over some of the tangle patterns using various transparent colours, including a special paint that can only be seen from certain angles or in certain lighting.  This is a reminder that no matter our moods or environment, we can choose to let our colours shine.

It was after stepping back and contemplating her for a while that I saw her path shape before her – made of her own substance and colours with an added layer of gold-coloured mica flakes (love, compassion), energizing her life with passion and purpose.

Sometimes (or often in some cases), our hearts may call us to live outside the box, off the beaten track, – that’s why I so enjoyed painting her path off the face of the canvas and around the side. I remember an art teacher once telling me that I should constrain my subjects more as I often had them go beyond the frame.  I listened and thought about it, but then decided to disagree.  Art was the one area where I could freely express myself and not worry about social norms, expectations, and all the constraints in other areas of my life.  I didn’t want to paint inside the box… and so this path winds off the face of the canvas, beginning and ending in a spiral – symbol of evolution, holistic growth, awareness, and connectivity with cosmic energies.

Life by Design – 12″ x 24″ – acrylics & mica on gallery-wrapped canvas (no framing required).  – SOLD.  Click here for prints.

Go to my shop to see all available originals and reproductions.

By the way, I’ve decided to name my first crossover painting “This Little Light of Mine“, after the song that I often find my self singing and dancing to.  It has been sold.