I’m having to practice a lot of patience these days. I’m currently counting down to my solo exhibition, which I’m very excited about. Of Myth and Men is a series of paintings that has been in the works for almost 4 years now. It’s hard to believe I’ve been working on these paintings for so long already. I’ve slowly been working on them in between different projects, so it is both exciting and a little bit daunting to think that they will finally be exhibited in a gallery! These paintings really tested my patience, oftentimes becoming painstaking to create. The floral patterns are actually the most time consuming part of each painting, and every time I sit down to start a section of floral pattern, I take a deep breath because I know I’m going to be there for hours on end, doing very small, detailed brushwork.
For the final painting in this series, Medusa & Her Mortal Sisters, I decided I was going to go all out and create a showstopper that captured the essence of the entire project. While I was planning the piece, I remember thinking I was slightly crazy to try to paint this snake pattern all weaving in and out in a giant knot. But I had a clear vision of how it should be and wanted to create what I imagined, so I set about working slowly on this painting. I gave myself plenty of time to finish before the final preparations for the show began, and sure enough, this last painting took over two months to complete. But I’m very happy with how it turned out and I can’t wait to see it up on the wall at Initial Gallery. I like this painting so much I chose it for the postcard invitation.
The interesting thing about working on this series for 4 years is how much the work has changed over the years, and where these paintings have taken me. I actually created a couple of paintings in Banff during an artist residency there, and another one in Ox-Bow during another residency. I’ve also moved around and worked in 4 different studios during that time. And I think a lot of that change and movement in my life influenced these works.
The work also developed and moved from canvas to wood panel. Looking back at the ones created on canvas…there is a different feel to them, but I can’t really say I prefer one over the other. Painting on the wood was much smoother and allowed for greater detail, but the texture of the canvas also gives the painting another element.
These next couple of weeks will be mostly about trying to get the word out about this show. The paintings are finished, varnished, and just waiting to be hung. And so now I play the waiting game…
