I have had a very hectic life for the past few months since my last blog post. It is a good thing no one was holding their breath waiting for the next installation. One of my main problems has been poor health and the lack of energy to do a new painting or to blog about someone else's wonderful work. Well, I am happy to say, things are better in my world and I actually completed a new painting yesterday.
I have often thought I should call my art shows "The Three Faces Of Carol". The long time pros always advise that you pick a style of painting and develop your skills in that area. The idea is to develop a style that will identify with you so when people see the paintings they know you are the artist; an idea that makes a lot of sense but doesn't quite fit into my life. I started with tradional paintings. I love the beauty of nature so landscapes and florals were a good fit for me. I enjoyed painting and traditional work seemed to be the place I wanted to concentrate my efforts. I could paint landscapes, florals, still lifes, portraits and never run out of subject matter that I loved.
Then, as time went by, I wanted to do something different from all the things I was seeing at art show and I wanted to challenge myself. I started the series I call Shattered Reality and have done 47 paintings in this series. In the areas where I show my work I am known for these paintings. People see them and immediately identify them with my name. These paintings are colorful and fun and I truly enjoy doing them, plus they have been very popular with my collectors. I love to paint subjects that are colorful such as tropical fish, flowers, butterflies, birds, etc. There is no end to the fauna and flora that are colorful.
Now I have discovered the joy of doing abstract paintings. They are fun and exciting for me. I start them with a general idea but I am never quite sure where they will go like I am with the traditional and Shattered Reality paintings. Recently I discovered mixing the abstract with a little dose of reality in the form of photos I have taken to create some mixed media pieces.
I honestly don't think I can limit myself to one style of painting. I am now in the "mature age" era of my life and life is too short to limit myself. I am looking forward to the remaining years I have on earth and the adventures I will have as I explore all that art has to offer me. I see much fun on the horizon and I will chase it as long as I can.
