I will always be so humbled and grateful that people like my art enough to purchase my pieces.
This piece is one of the biggest canvasses I have ever worked on – 24 inches by 36 inches. Now I do realise that many amateur and professionals work on far bigger works than that, but for a very VERY amateurish hobby artist like me, with a tiny room at home as a studio, trust me, this is HUGE.
There are days when I wish I had one of those huge concrete warehouses to work in, where I can splash and splatter paint to my heart’s content. As it is, the carpet in my workroom is ruined forever.
The person who commissioned this piece wanted something that reminded her of her 3 young sons. It was to be hung in their playroom. The theme I was given was “Jungle” and the brief was to ‘hide’ as many of the boys’ favourite things in the painting as possible. She very kindly provided me with photos of their belongings and I got to work. It was a whole lot of fun but also intimidating having so much space to work on!
This is when I really got busy with paper collage and I am forever thankful to the inventor of Posca acrylic markers. These markers are the best things since sliced bread. And paper! Scrapbooking paper, origami paper, wrapping paper! I love them all! I especially love blingy, sparkly paper. That’s on my shopping list for the future. Lots of bling. Paint, fabric, paper. As I get older, I am finding that I like brighter and brighter colours.
The best and most interesting part of making this art piece was when I had to think about how to hide ‘items’ around the painting, and also to think about which animals to include in the jungle. I was almost sad to finish it.
Thankfully the customer liked it, and provided feedback that her sons could immediately relate to the picture when they saw it. I am so thankful to hear that. I’m also happy that the piece arrived at her residence intact and in perfect condition.
This hobby has given me a kind of expressive voice that I have never before had.
