This exhibition started with an idea... a scary idea, actually. I wanted to paint BIG abstract paintings. Here's how it started...
If you know my story, you know that I began painting professionally in 2018, so not that long ago. My paintings were small abstract watercolors. I wanted to make la
rger paintings and began experimenting with acrylic paint and more varied materials. While most people might increase the size of their work a bit at a time, that's not me. I jumped in WAY over my level and signed up for a workshop which took place in January, 2020, in Florida. This Expressive Abstract - Large Scale Painting workshop was full of professional artists who have been painting for years and... well, me. I had an 8' x 8' wall all to myself, a giant roll of unstretched canvas, paints, brushes, and not a clue! I was so intimidated. The other artists knew the instructor and had been painting for much longer than I.
Fast forward... after all the jitters, the instructor and the other artists were really kind. I had a lot of fun trying something so far outside my experience. While I was building a studio at home (click here for that blog post), I realized that I'd now have the space to create larger artwork. But how to challenge myself? A solo show, of course! I applied for an exhibit in September, was notified in mid-October that I was accepted. I would have an exhibition at the beautiful gallery space at Leland Cultural Arts Center less than eight months later! I began creating for the exhibit almost immediately at my rented studio at The ArtWorks. (See photo at right.)
The home studio was finished and I moved in January 1. I got organized, took a long-planned visit to our second home, then returned March 15 and haven't stopped painting.
Most of the large paintings for this exhibit will be displayed with their "inspiration pieces". These are smaller paintings I've made over the last few years. It really takes a lot of art supplies to create a body of work for an exhibit and I'm so grateful to have received a grant from Jerry's Artarama and the Jerry Goldstein Foundation to defray some of the cost of preparing the canvases for exhibit. They had nearly 4,000 artists apply with beautiful artwork and worthwhile projects. Only 100 grants were awarded, so I'm truly humbled and happy to have been selected.
Here are the details for the exhibition... All the artwork is for sale on my website. Click HERE for more information.
Please comment or email if you visit and let me know about your experience or if you have any questions! Sign up below for my monthly studio updates if you'd like to know about upcoming exhibits and what's going on in my studio.