"It is good to love many things, for therein lies the true strength, and whosoever loves much performs much, and can accomplish much, and what is done in love is well done."
~ Vincent Van Gogh I'm absolutely thrilled that Tri-Art, a Canadian paint company, has offered to partner with me on the 'Mastrius Women' project. At my friend Ana's suggestion, I have been trying them out to see if they bothered my husband (environmental sensitivities) and, so far, so good. I had fun looking through their colour palette to select some for the work:
Last month I visited Tiny Tattoos in Calgary to get a double heart tattoo in honour of my girls. I often wear a beautiful bracelet made by Soul Mantras with 5 dots to represent 5 deep breaths which helps to ground me whenever I feel overwhelmed but I tend to hook it on everything and it is often dipping into my paint so this is a much nicer way to remind myself to slow down and take a breath. These two hearts were inspired by my tiny heart paintings so it is doubly meaningful.
"Feminist ideas spread among the educated middle classes, discriminatory laws were repealed, and the women's suffrage movement gained momentum in the last years of the Victorian era."
After months and months of deliberation, I finally repainted my studio last month. I looked at many photographs of galleries with colourfully painted walls and finally decided upon a terra cotta. It feels so warm and inviting. Now that the carpets have been replaced with hard surface flooring, a shrub removed from outside the window (loved the privacy but prefer the light), a new track light, closet refinished and walls repainted, all the is left is a new window and then it's finished! I really do need a lovely sanctuary in order to be inspired to work. :)
I recently posted a couple of portraits of my daughter on Instagram in order to request feedback as I was curious as I had recently received negative feedback on the red background claiming that it had too much contrast (I was experimenting with a primary palette - red/yellow/blue). Yet, the feedback from my post & my stories skewed much more positively to that portrait. This is such a great reminder that art is totally subjective (expression, style, composition, even favourite colours can influence someone) and how important it is to focus on doing work you love...someone else out there will love it, too.
"The rights and privileges of Victorian women were limited, and both single and married women had to live with heterogeneous hardships and disadvantages."
|
|