Variety...the Spice of Life! Part 1

We all need variety right? 

Visitors to my studio often say they love the variety in my work and I was pondering why there is that variety in what I create. 

For me my art is about storytelling. 

I process a lot of my life experiences through my paint and tools. Whether it be my travels across the country and overseas or just time spent at the beach snorkelling. 

All of it somehow ends up on a canvas. 

The techniques I use also lend themselves to variety. My mixed media Abstract  artworks can contain watercolours, inks, acrylics, powdered pigments as well as a selection of texture mediums in multiple layers in the one piece. 

It all depends on the story I'm trying to tell. 

Storytelling through mixing media

For instance, if I want to express an experience I had in the ocean. Perhaps the colours and how the light breaks through the surface and dances across the sandy floor. 

I will likely choose very fluid materials like inks and watercolours.

These are both often high in pigment concentration so I can get good coverage. 

I also use lots of water and let it freely run. 

I call it, 'letting go then pulling it back'. 

It's like having a conversation with the painting.

These are what I call 'starts' and I'll explain more about them and my creative process in the next blog. 

I've never been much of one for painting what I think will sell. 

There are times when I have to do 'bread and butter' work because lets face it, even artists have to eat and pay bills. 

But it's funny, my artworks that are the most genuine usually always sell...eventually. 

They just have to find the right owner 🙂

In my next blog I share more about 'starts', how I do them and why they are important. 

Ciao for now, 

Liv. X