It's time to reveal of my latest collection of abstract paintings.
I get it - there's a LOT of colour!
So forget the idea of trying to match your sofa with these paintings. That's not the intention. But on the other hand, BRAVO STANDING-O if you have a royal purple sofa with emerald green cushions and hot pink walls! Go you!
Really though, the purpose of my abstract artwork is to reach well beyond surface-level home decor parameters.
"Your work is so NOT beige”
- a welcome compliment from a recent studio visitor
I hope you’ll let me challenge your idea of art for your home with these colourful art prints. To gently nudge you towards more colour and away from boring. I'd love for you to find yourself, or a playful part of yourself, within this imaginative rainbow on offer.
Take your time taking it in.
When going through the collection, I hope you sense something, even if you don't know what it is, that you connect to. Or that you see something within these compositions that intrigues your mind and entertains your thoughts. In reading the individual painting descriptions and in looking closely at each abstract artwork, I hope that your own happy memories of summer surface and fill an emotional part of your heart while your eyes smile.
I hope my words help widen your perception and understanding of my abstracts, me, and in turn, your understanding of what consumes me as an artist and tickles my imagination.
As if I needed some reassurance, some kind of sign that I was on the right path with these abstract paintings, the Universe handed it to me in the most obvious, delightful and spirited way. Walking through the park the other morning I saw a little boy dressed in a Spiderman onesie, cowboy boots and a Yankees baseball hat, spinning in circles trying to make his cape (a Spiderman cape?) fly while quietly singing some nonsensical made-up song. Dozens of other kids and parents were around - all dressed and playing on the swings as one would expect - and yet here was this one boy who, in the centre of it all, was completely enjoying just being himself, happily lost in his own imagination and without any pause to conform or care in the world but to make that cape fly.
This collection is that little boy. Unapologetically, delightfully, playfully, perfectly imperfect ol' me.
They're moments of my life, snapshots of time, captured on canvas in full colour. They flirt with the idea of "weird" in what feels like a wonderfully joyful way. I like to think there's a touch of mischief hiding in the shadows - it's what keeps them interesting and alive.
As I paint, I follow my curiosity, asking myself an endless stream of creative "What if I try...." questions, and let the colours, how I’m feeling, the movement of the brush, and maybe a bit of lucky happenstance, to lead me to the answers.
When the visual says with colour what I can not express with words, when I see what I was seeking to find, it is done. And it's exhilarating. There's nothing, absolutely nothing, so satisfying as finishing a painting that feels completely right. It's the best validation for my existence I could possibly wish for.
I'm aiming for something greater than perfection, being guided by something wiser than me. There's truth and beauty to imperfection. Life, and art, can be messy, off-balance, challenging, and confronting - it's part of being human and it's a part of my art. Over the years I've come to accept, even appreciate, the imperfections, the 'weirdness', of my abstracts. It means they have one-of-a-kind value and tons of personality.
All this from an inkling of an idea and a lot of paint. It's the magic and mystery and wonder of art.
Whether an original or one of the abstract artwork prints available, I really hope there's at least one colourful 'Detour' you simply can't live without.
Even if it means you'll need to buy a new sofa.