a piece without a name

TITLE: Just Beginning. Prints available in my etsy shop.

So I mentioned I had a lot of new paintings to share with you! And this is one that means a lot to me. The original was bought over the weekend by one of the kindest guys I had the opportunity to meet during open art studios. It was one of those serendipitous events.

He had been in town for the weekend and stopped in at the gallop coffeehouse in madison, where i currently have an art exhibit going on and saw my open art studios flyer on his way out. And so he stopped by my place with his coffee to-go in hand. I cannot say how very honored I was. I just adore when events fall into place like that and when he chose this owl painting I knew it was going to the right place.

It all happened so fast though, that this painting actually left without a name! It found it's home before I even had a chance to put a title on the back. And for some reason that feels quite fitting. Because in the whirlwind of a morning, he came to pick up the painting and mentioned it was going to someone else. So I said I'd gift-wrap it for him.

Now sometimes I am able to give a title to a painting, knowing where it's going.

 TITLE: Beauty In Prayer. Prints available in my etsy shop. 

Like this piece BEAUTY IN PRAYER. The original also sold last week without a name. I love this painting too, and it took a bit to come up with a title, but over the weekend friends pointed out that within the writing on her belly and moon they read the word "PRAYER" (totally unintentional). And beauty kept resonating from this piece, so after contemplation I realized she is BEAUTY IN PRAYER.

So sometimes it's tricky to title a painting, but I never ever forget. I always write it on the back, often along with a little story about the painting. But with the kind coffee-guy's painting, to me that painting's story is just beginning.

Perhaps that is a fitting title: JUST BEGINNING. And so, this piece gets its name from its story. Beautiful.

For both of these original mixed media paintings JUST BEGINNING and BEAUTY IN PRAYER, I cut out lots and lots of stencils from typing paper and layered them with doilies to create a spray painted resist. I just adore all of the layers! Then I drew the character in with pastel and acrylics and added origami paper/journal pages and ink for a lovely mixed media effect. And, of course, I just had to add a bit of copper glitter around the moon and feet. Something that, to me, connects the figure to its imaginary world, as if one just stepped right out from the other.

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ps. i just finished a few new LITTLE PAINTINGS on 5x5 inch blocks of wood. I'm adding them to the shop next week. Here's a bit of a sneak peek!