Hi there, welcome!
This week I'm releasing a new series of abstract watercolor pieces titled 'An ode to the ocean' and up here I'd like to talk more about the how's and why's behind the series ánd show you a preview of them all. Currently there are four pieces in the series, but I want it to be a dynamic one: growing and maybe shrinking over time. So there you have it, a preview of the series as it is today (on the 1st of November). 🌞
Let's start this blog by telling you how this series started to take shape in the first place. The past year I've slowly been tip-toeing into painting more abstract pieces. At first this was a very daunting thing to do: I didn't know a whole lot about how color or composition could be used properly in this style of painting or, maybe even more, how to even start a piece in the first place. At that time I was studying 'Creative Therapy' and one of the assignments we got, was to expand our artistic horizon by experimenting with styles or materials you'd never used or done before. Soon, painting abstractly and more intuitively, was on my list of things I wanted to experiment with. At the same time my interest in contemporary abstract art grew and I started following more abstract painters on social media. Me experimenting in a safe environment and discovering what I love in abstract work at the same time, resulted in a growing love for the genre.
My new love for painting intuitively soon connected with one of my older loves: the ocean. Together they started shaping my pieces. My admiration for the ocean, roots in my early childhood; swimming was one of my favorite activities and as a WWF-ranger I committed myself to saving endangered species, forests and chorals. One time I was searching for books in the library and stumbled upon some books about the deep sea - and was immediately intrigued. I just couldn't wrap my head around the fact that there were all these amazing - and terrifying - creatures floating around in the depths of the earth. Stories and pictures of luminous fish and squid as big as trucks fueled my imagination and still intrigue me up to today. The ocean remains a huge source of inspiration for me; It's place of tranquility (that feeling of being underwater and it's just you floating around) and comfort, but at the same time a place of mysteries and great terror (you might not be the only one floating around😬). And of course there are the numerous visible features: it's color-palettes are outstandingly beautiful, waves crashing, all the different species it houses, the movement and so on.
That's why this series is called 'An ode to the ocean', since it's been such a stable source of inspiration to me. Every piece embodies something of that love and fascination for the blue patches of the earth and expresses something of the contrasting - almost paradoxical - features I admire.
The pieces are all painted with watercolors on textured (cold pressed) paper. I like using a lot of water when painting with watercolors, to create these gorgeous textures and contrasts in sharpness and softness. In order to add depth and layers and accentuate the movement in the pieces, I decided - heavily inspired by the amazing artist Deeann Reeves - to add embroidery and machine-stitching on top of the paints. The process of creating these pieces was specially diverse. First the calm painting part, at a moderate pace placing my splashes of color, connection wet parts with each other. Secondly the utterly slow but firm process of hand-embroidering the thick paper. And lastly the - in contrast almost violent - process with the sewing machine.
I'm quite proud sharing this series with you, hope you appreciated this brief insight into my thoughts and processes and I would like to encourage you to take a moment to appreciate your sources of inspiration, they're amazing✨
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