One of the most popular workshops in schools and otherwise and every year I like to paint some for Valentine’s Day, Birthdays, Weddings, and Baby Gifts. This is a great project when working with children and is a terrific introduction on how to keep colours vibrant. Painting hearts is a fun way to spend an afternoon and can be adapted in so many ways. This project also works well to make cards. When I’m painting these, I like to think of the things I’m grateful f as there is plenty of thinking time with all the layers of colour required. You can add as many or a little colour as you’d like, go bold or neutral. If you are interested in learning more, my digital download PDFs with links to videos are available via Etsy here.
Ellipse / 20x10 / acrylic on canvas
..... When I began thinking about creating this painting for Your Brain on Art for the Branch Out Foundation, I knew I wanted to incorporate a portrait. After learning that the Neuroscientist was studying the effects of gut/brain immune response biome, I decided to expand my piece to be more figurative. The focus is on the correlation between genes & environment in treating MS and Stroke. ..... So much of what I included was symbolic...from the colours that represent stroke (red), MS (yellow) and gut (blue) to the circular shapes that represent the slides I saw and also the cyclical or top-down/bottom-up nature of the effects food we eat on our stomach (also known as the second brain) and brain. ..... I wanted this painting to be a physical, human representation of a scientific event. Seeing the vulnerability of a person looking down at the red apple and knowing how those nutrients can affect brain health. ..... During my conversation with the scientists, the image of a flower came up and I chose to include it in both the background and also in the patterns of the dress. I exchanged the pattern of black roses, moths & beetles on the original dress with images of microglia as they account for 10-15% of all cells in the brain and act as the main form of immune defense and brain maintenance. To me they also resemble the bachelor's buttons that grow in my garden. ..... The apple naturally symbolizes health and also is a symbol of the heart which connects to the mind & body. In Norse mythology, apples were given to the goddess in exchange for eternal youthfulness. ..... The title of this painting, Ellipse, is a connection between my recent studies in Astronomy, Psychology & Math and represents the cyclical nature of this process and symbolically connects the figure & fruit. ..... The difficulty was in utilizing several photographs I have taken of my daughter in the past as I currently don't have access to her. I also used my husband as a 'hand model' and had to figure out how to make the hand look like a young a lady's...my biggest challenge :) ..... Tickets to the event are available through the Branch Out Foundation. Last week I had the most interesting conversation with Neuroscientist Dr. Maryam Faiz and her assistant Emerson Daniele. We are collaborating on a painting for the upcoming fundraiser hosted by the Branch Out Foundation in order to support neurological research that I mentioned last week. I'm thrilled to be invited to take part in such important work. Here's a little more information:
The Branch Out Neurological Foundation is a not-for-profit organization based in Calgary, Canada. We accelerate tech solutions and non-pharmaceutical approaches to neurological disorders, including Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, Autism, Depression, Multiple Sclerosis, Concussion, Epilepsy etc. Through our grant program, we provide funding for researchers across Canada. Our vision? A world free from neurological disorders. We fund research that fits into the rigorous NeuroCAM (Neuroscience + Complementary & Alternative Modalities) criteria. All research proposals are reviewed by our Scientific Review Panel to ensure it meets the highest quality of research methods and scientific measures. Since 2010, we’ve raised nearly $3 Million for alternative brain research, funded over one hundred and forteen (114) research projects and have expanded our University Grant Program across Canada. |
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