Art in the Time of Corona - series 2
This week has been hard, I think we can all attest to that. I am an empathetic person to begin with, to the point I have to purposely remove hard stimulus. If I do expose myself, I have to blank out emotions, or I will be a puddle of tears on the floor. Injustice, any kind, especially women, children, animals and the underprivileged are my triggers. So you can see, if you have any type of empathy yourself, how tough this is. And it isn't going to get better this year. We live in a time of speaking up to injustice. We are living the times I, personally, have been waiting for all my life. From that point of view, I am ecstatic with the upheaval. I hope it continues, without bloodshed.
On a happier note, I have continued to create in the chaos. It is in my blood. When I paint, I gravitate towards happier art. I have been exploring watercolor, as you may know if you follow these blogs. I love how white crayon will resist watercolor. I love how the watercolor can bleed and coagulate when concentrated, wet on wet. I love the streaks from the watercolors as the brush runs out of paint. When the paint I have, fairly inexpensive 24 color palette, dries, it dries lighter. I think it is high in chalk concentration. So I enhance it with colored pencils. The pencils, also have chalk in them. They powder and blend when touched. They catch on the watercolor, enhancing the concentrated textures of the paint. If I am feeling particularly bold, I will add black in, in the form of pens or brush pen ink pens. Here are some examples of my latest art.
It has been a busy art week. I have been asked to participate in an art exhibit. With my life in a sort of limbo for living space, most of my art is in storage in my parents' spare room. I was able to compile a group of 10 paintings to go up. It is so nice, as I really want to pare down my inventory, and be able to create more full-sized paintings. (Hey, if anyone in Orlando is interested, contact me and describe the art you are interested in. You can see a larger array at www.ShelleyOverton.com).
In the meantime, I have discovered the joy of creating art quickly, and in confined spaces. I started another sketchbook. Sketchbooks allow me to get out my art, and keep it neatly contained and safe. I really enjoy it. The only problem I have is I really wish I knew where my gouache is. I miss being able to add opaque imagery over the watercolors. I have it on my list of things to do to purge and rearrange boxes in storage, so as to find useful items. I will get to that! Eventually.
I will be posting more of these pieces in the coming weeks. I hope you enjoy them. If you click on them, you will see the prints and other merchandise you can purchase if you like them.
I want to say THANKS for supporting small business, women and artists! Until next time, stay safe!
CONTACT Shelley via email here.
©2020 Shelley Overton
