Here is the latest completed example of my new style. I will try to offer some explanation for those interested. As many of you know, my previous abstract pieces, in both oil and watercolor, contained many lines, vertical and horizontal. This new style has curvy ones. I explained how I arrived here in the post, “Why Watercolors”. The feel of this style is all about fun, joy and lightheartedness. It looks like balloons or rocks or gemstones connected by strings. The string represents a person’s life journey. The larger attached shapes are representations of the big moments in our lives —the “big life moments” or the little moments in life that change us in a big way. Everyone has these. These are often illustrated with a timeline. I don’t like to think of things in linear form much anymore, so I’ve chosen to paint them with twists and turns and ups and downs which I find to make much more sense. Sometimes these moments overlap or touch in some way like the big black shape and the teal one in the image below. Sometimes those big or small monumental moments in our lives “spill over” or “go over the line” and affect not just us, but those around us. I will also attach a pic below to show an example of how I paint this.

The journey or path our lives take is rarely, if ever, a straight shot or smooth sailing the entire way. If you notice, the lines representing the string are rarely straight and smooth or uninterrupted. Sometimes they are thin, and sometimes they are thick. I also, at times, paint lines next to the shape or place dots along the lines or outside the shapes to represent the fact that sometimes we take the pain or joy of one life event into the future as we move from one phase of life to the other. There was a time in my painting history where I could never have “gone out of the lines” or not had a line look absolutely perfect. I intentionally make the lines look this way now. The old me would have never ever made this choice. It is an intentional choice that has a purpose and a meaning. (This is just one example of how an artist’s choices should never be judged as right or wrong, especially if a person doesn’t understand what was intended. Whether a person likes or dislikes an artist’s work is really what matters, not the judgement of right or wrong. Not every person is going to love the art of every artist. )

I have included picture examples of pieces with the shimmer I add to each piece. It is truly difficult to capture this in any straight on look at a piece. I add this shimmer because, of course, I love it so. But I do it for a another more meaningful reason, as well. The shimmer is throughout each piece. It represents joy and happiness and grace and hope— the “sparkly” aspects of life. Those “big moments” can be filled with all of these things, even if they are painful. When we look back on our lives, I think or I hope we can all agree that even wtihin the hardest of times, if we look close enough, there are beautiful parts that help get us through, help make us who we are, and help keep us going (a kind word uttered, a listening ear available to listen, something as simple as a smile shared, or grace offered). Sometimes the “strings” are shimmery and sometimes they are black or another color. This is because the roads, our roads, the journey of life can be complex and difficult and amazing and mind blowing and precious all in one. We must embrace this! It is a fact. It happens to each of us. I’ve created this collection to remind us to enjoy it all, ever moment and every person we are blessed to meet along the way. Here’s to the journey, fellow traveler! May you be blessed and filled with joy, hope and love!