Starting point? Wanting to make a change..create a new look that is still me..which attributes do I keep, which ones do I change? It's a process made a little easier and faster as I've been thinking about this type of art for three years. The previous paintings evolved while I was working on some landscapes in pastel and took a dramatic turn towards texture...lost the landscapes but discovered I really, really love texture!
I have taken off on a fanciful flight to capture the tulip fileds of the Skagit Valley using my abstract style. Aerial photos were the starting point. Farmlands from above-incredible designs! Experimenting with molding paste, combs, forks, and palette knives followed. Then....I waited..color stumped me. I started out playing it safe-even added a couple of sections of bronze. What I learned..don't play it safe! The new look is going the bold, the bright, the gaudy!
The first painting of the new series is named Dream Fields. To view these tulip fields from an airplane or a hot air balloon is possible every Spring in the Skagit Valley thirty minutes from my house. But to experience them in a flying dream only happens once.... if you're lucky!! I'm going to have to work much bigger to get that dream feeling back!
On to the second venue this year...the Auburn City Hall in downtown Auburn, Washington. The space is wonderful and full of indirect light from the bank of windows. They also have a very nice hanging system and spot lights. The gold really shimmers on Prosperity in this prime location. Eight of my paintings will be showing here this month. It is the first time for Prosperity to be out showing off in public; Tranquility is very experienced as this is her fifth or sixth venue.
Helen's Originals showcases abstract acrylic mixed media, printmaking with monotypes, dry point and gyotaku, figurative collage, and informative blog entries.
