The week leading up to Christmas was wonderfully full of happy things. Probably one of the best weeks of the full 2023 year for me.
I submitted the below three pieces for a juried exhibition in Orlando. All three made it and the opening night reception involved black tie outfits, live music, and Prosecco. It was so much fun.
I watched several patrons of the event take photos of my work and was even asked to stand next to my paintings for a few. Crazy.
The two figurative paintings of women above that are part of this exhibition: Orlando's Downtown Arts District Affordable Art Show, are large canvas prints (30" X 40" and 24" X 36"). The lady on the left is titled "Handling Loneliness", and on the right we have "Boxed".
The parrot to the left was printed directly on a finished 8" X 10" slab of wood, and titled "Dressed In Orange".
And here are some snippets from the opening night:
Immediately following our night in downtown Orlando, I found out that three pieces (the total I submitted to another juried show) won Honorable Mentions. The pieces I submitted for this show, Teravarna's 7th Annual Figurative Exhibition, included "Boxed", "Handling Loneliness", and "Like Glass," (which is pictured below). These three are also part of my EMDR series.
And the award certificate looks like:
I wrapped up the final work week before Christmas with a painting of Mary and baby Jesus. So often I see the deity side of Christ as a newborn, his mother stoic and poised, showing only slight signs of happiness.
I imagine Mary was absolutely ecstatic, and I wanted to portray that here:
PS I also was gifted a second tattoo for Christmas. I designed this one, as well as my first.
I LOVE designing tattoos and have done around half a dozen at this point, so if you need help with your art/idea for a tattoo, send me a message and let's get something illustrated to get you inked up.
In the New Year, I start up with my EMDR therapy sessions again, and will back on the bandwagon of working through the series of paintings, averaging one painting each week.
In the meantime, enjoy the awkward fast and slow that somehow happens simultaneously between holidays at the end of something old, and the start to something new.
See you in 2024 :)
Comments