My last blog post touched on paintings with both beauty and substance, which it what I strive to make. You can appreciate each painting for the simple pleasure of having something beautiful to see, but there's more to it if you'd like to dive deeper as well.
I've already written at length about what the lines mean in my new series, so this week we're going all in on the circles I've been making: what's up with those?
If you look back at my work over the years you'll notice a series of circle-ish marks are the top left or right of my canvases. They're typically in sets of 3s, 5s or 7s.
"Firecracker," 40" x 30," with circle set at top right
For me they've always symbolized relationships, the people you hold dear. Sometimes they're the people I've lost too. But ultimately, the symbolize what studies have shown makes people the happiest: intimate relationships.
With my most recent series, I started focusing more on my marks-- amplifying them and making them the subject of each painting. It feels almost as if I'm zooming in on this one part of my painting (and I dig that). With that, the circle-ish marks became more circular-- and deeper.
And with the physical evolution came the emotional evolution too: I started thinking about what having an inner circle meant. A circle of trusted people. How those people know your heart. And how that circle can change: people who you thought would be there for your life are just meant to be there for a season. What the feels like and looks like-- this wonderful process of being human. This process of living, celebrating, and letting go. I want all of that depth in these circles... which is why some seem tighter than others, some seem to have more depth, and why there's layers of soft motion of color and texture of the paint all around them.
Again, it's your choice to enjoy the painting for the beauty, the substance, or both! Whatever you choose, I hope it brings you light!
Keep reading more about my inspiration and process in my other posts, here.