"The Dream" 24" x 48" Acrylic on Canvas I am so so so excited to share this creation with everyone! I really spent a lot of time with this one , exploring new techniques mostly, but also attempting to recreate someone else's dream while infusing the image with my own message. I was feeling called to create this piece as i connected with a song my boyfriend had created more than 10 years ago.
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I'm really super stoked to have another fun album art project to share with you all. I have been diving back into my creative software (especially excited to be now using Corel painter in addition to my Adobe suite for some cosmic touches .)
After learning some new effects and playing with some of my old favorites, I came up with this magical galactic tiger design for his new duo release of Bonus Remixes; Govinda has always been one of my favorite producers to design for ! Please visit www.govindamusic.com to hear more music and dive into what his sound is all about. As for this particular release, please enjoy this most recent mash up of Future's "F*ck up Some Commas" & Govinda's classic "Plus Loin" as well as the psychedelically entrancing Sweet Talk (original by Kito & Reija) Both of these songs are deviations from his typical style. Usually infusing his electronic beats with world music & violin, Govinda has set upon a path of full evolution. Enjoy! After spending some time discovering new artists this week via traveling to Colorado and New Mexico and previewing some art galleries, I became absolutely jazzed with who I found there , I found myself buzzing with excitement and inspiration . I began to notice once again how other artists work with their various mediums in new and creative ways, or some even using unconventional objects and even plants to create their pigments. I decided to dive deeper into the world of traditional painting to discover more ways to expresss & experiment with new methods . Golden OPEN acrylicsSomething I have been seeking for quite some time is a new way to stretch the "open" time (time that acrylic is wet and able to be worked and blended ) of my paints. Many people have recommended for me to try oil painting , and I have shown some interest and tried oils however the smell of harsh chemicals has been such a pitfall for me because my studio is very small with no ventiliation. Not the ideal working space for oil painting.
Furthermore , the drying time of oils can take days or even weeks or months for the paint to full dry. As I often take my artwork to shows to live paint , this is not the ideal situation either . I have , for the most part , enjoyed the fast drying time that acrylic paint offers , however with paint drying in just mere seconds sometimes this also became an issue when I was seeking a more blended look . I have had some success with using a drying retarder, ( derivan Matisse drying retarder) which allows me to stretch the open time of my acrylics . Sometimes I managed to keep things workable for up to 12 hours later on my palette and 30 mins on my canvas . However , what I am most excited about right now is Golden OPEN acrylics . These paints are amazingly whipped , fluffy yet thin layer of paint which remains moist for almost 12 hours , and can be refreshed and reworked with a gentle mist of water! I stayed up quite late working on one of my paintings last night and when I came back to it this afternoon I was still able to blend the colors from the night before ! No chemicals , just my beloved acrylic paint in a new form . I am sure I will find many more reasons to love this paint after spending some more time with it , but I have to say I am optimistic! So happy to reveal my sweet creation from the past few months; She is titled "Cosmic Tigris Devika" after my very talented & loving friend, Luna Devika. Here, I have painted her suspended in space, in a very open pose with a white tiger leaping from her chest.
This painting is an ode to her massive heart, and anyone else who loves so freely and openly that it uplifts those surrounding you. The mediums I used were acrylic, gauche (opaque watercolor), and spray paint. The surface is on thin birch laser cut into the hexagon shape. I definitely plan to create more paintings on these geometrical surfaces! I had so much fun creating this . Perhaps my favorite element of this painting is the gold metallic spray paint and how it catches the light that the sun casts upon it in the afternoon. (see image below) I deeply enjoyed creating this mandala in between my projects this evening . I'm becoming more and more fascinated with symmetry and these kinetic color ripples that permeate darkness. I feel like creatures and images come through the abrstract petals, speaking to me like a crystalline vision of ecstasy.
I know , as my first post, this may be a lot to swallow. However, I don't want to be the type of artist who censors themselves for the sake of other's perception of me.
This painting is kind of intense. Why? This painting is of me. This is a painting of an emotion I experienced on a deep, cellular level. I went through something this past year that made it impossible for me to have intercourse with my partner or exercise for a month. An operation. Fortunately everything was okay and all I was supposed to do was heal for that entire month, but still. My reaction worried me. I am a highly sensual person and much of my art is inspired by the fact that I am able to express myself with my body as a vehicle for expression. I'm a dancer. Performance artist. Contortionist. Loving, physically interactive , girlfriend. When I was unable to express myself in this way I felt caged. My energy began to build up and snowball inside of my chest. It grew and it grew until just a few days later I felt my mind exploding with all sorts of scenarios. I wanted to rip my clothes off and be naked in front of everybody. WITH everybody. My sexual energy was overflowing and I felt this monster burst from my stomach, rising up to destroy me and everything around me. It was like looking myself, or at least this part of myself , in the mirror for the very first time. I had never known myself to be this absurdly rageful or have this much energy surrounding my sexuality. Suddenly I realized why I ever became a dancer or a contortionist; to control this monster, to have a healthy release for this energy that I hosted. How would I had ever known it was there if I wasn't forced to look at it directly in it's amber colored snake eyes? |