“hmmm…. I want to make a bold painting but I don’t want it to look too bold. If I use bold colors that’s not going to work. How about I use a bold design? No, that will just look cluttered and distracting. Maybe if I have it be very minimalistic? No, the audience will think it’s boring.”

The artist sits back in his chair and thinks for a minute. He then stands up and walks over to his desk where he pulls out a canvas. He takes out his paintbrush and begins to dab small spots of color on the canvas. After a few minutes he creates a small yellow circle on the canvas. He looks at it for a minute and then stands back from the canvas to get an overall view of his work. “Hmm….” The artist mutters as he walks back over to his desk and grabs another paintbrush. “Better.”

Tone:Artistic

This blog is not a newly published article, nor is it a new website. This blog is a constant work in progress of one man’s journey through his own art and mind.

The art presented on this site varies in style, content, and medium. Some pieces are abstract; others are figurative. Some are mechanical; others are more organic in style. Some pieces are inspired by the past; others are contemporary. Many of my pieces have a minimalistic feel to them while others embrace the boldness of color.

With this blog, I hope to share my ideas with others who may be interested in painting and design, as well as inspire other artist’s to look at things from new perspectives.”

I choose to paint with bold strokes of color, minimal detail and simple compositions. I do not work with oils because I enjoy the immediate drying time of acrylics and the ease of building up color in layers.

I am inspired by my environment and the people around me.

I paint to inspire others to create their own art, to find beauty in everyday things and to feel free to express themselves through art.

I am a young painter who found her passion early and I am fortunate enough to be able to make a living from creating art. I hope that my blog will help other artists who are interested in pursuing their dream of making a living from their artwork. My blog entries will include tips about how I manage my own studio practice, basic information about painting techniques, examples of works in progress, finished paintings and works that didn’t turn out as expected.

The world has gone mad for minimalism. The idea that less is more, that the most refined thing is the barest of things, even that the absence of ornament signifies purity.

This isn’t a new idea. It’s been around since at least the late 16th century when geometric patterns began to replace the lush colors and complex imagery of medieval painting. But only in this century has minimalism become the emblem of a new kind of sophistication, an antidote to the crassness of mass-produced objects and clutter-filled homes.

Tastes change but art remains. Minimalism is bold and unpredictable; it can shock or delight. It challenges us to see familiar things in unfamiliar ways. When done well it rewards us with surprises.

It’s not all about white walls, stark light and lines. Painter John McEnroe works in oils, but he shares a similar sensibility with watercolor painter Alexandra Grant whose work you can see on these pages. Grant’s work is bold and colorful; McEnroe’s work is earthy with hints of color here and there. But both make use of abstraction to create surprising images that challenge our expectations about what art is supposed to look like.”

Unfortunately, the Byzantine era was one of the darkest periods in the history of art. Byzantine artists were commissioned by the church to create religious pieces but were not permitted to represent people or animals in their work. The result? A lot of abstract and geometric artwork. These paintings are often called “icons” and can be found in many churches and museums throughout the world today. It’s hard to believe that these works are from such a dark time period, as they are quite beautiful and inspiring!

That’s the question that I started thinking about when I was working on a new piece, and a friend asked me what I was doing.

I was working on a painting that had nothing to do with the subject matter of the painting that I finished earlier this year. It was a very different style, but to be honest I don’t know if either are exactly my style anymore. My style, or at least my goal, is to paint like no one else does.

This is how it happens:

I’ll spend time on something, and then ask myself why did I spend so much time on this (whether it be writing or painting). It usually comes down to wanting to push the boundaries of my skill set. But once I’ve done something, what’s even more satisfying is seeing people appreciate it and say something like “I can’t believe you did that!”

Sometimes it’s an interesting idea or technique, sometimes it’s just that they haven’t seen a particular body of work before. Whatever it is, sometimes you have to push away from what’s comfortable in order to grow as an artist. There are times when you’re not sure if you’re doing the right thing; you wonder if your audience will follow you there or not. You might be wrong

As I was going up the stair

I met a man who wasn’t there.

He wasn’t there again today.

I wish, I wish he’d go away.