Saturday, November 24, 2012

Patchwork of Raw Emotion

Patchwork of Raw Emotion
24 x 24"
oil on canvas
© Nicki Ault, 2012
sold

It never fails that as the Open Studio approaches the desire to rework old paintings escalates; I tweaked three paintings this week. Well, two paintings got tweaked and one got overhauled!

I originally painted "Raw Emotion", which is based on a little 6x6" study called "Patchwork Prairie", one year ago when a lot of things were going on in my world. I clearly remember that day- I was at the studio alone, I had my music turned up and I was really attacking the canvas. I do believe there were tears involved in that session and a friend was sending some supportive texts my way. Hey, sometimes that's how it goes. Anyway, I liked the result, but didn't love it - it seemed unfinished. It has always bothered me until the other day when I decided to rework it. My emotions conveniently happened to be running a little high this week what with the closure of the Kenderdine Campus and all. At least I was able to continue in the same frame of mind. Thank goodness for small blessings!

Here is what it looked like before:

Raw Emotion
24 x 24"
© Nicki Ault, 2011

And this is the study:

Patchwork Prairie
6x6"
© Nicki Ault, 2011

I'm happy with the reworked version which, as you can see, I have now named "Patchwork of Raw Emotions". I feel good about it hanging on my studio wall for the Open House tomorrow.

Speaking of which, if you are in Saskatoon please drop by the St. George Open Studio if you have time. I'll be there smiling my way through wearing contacts and high heels! It is between 11 and 5 and the invitation can be found in the top right corner of this blog. And remember, the entrance is in the alley.

And if you haven't had a chance to consider signing the petition to stop the closure of the historic Kenderdine Campus in the Boreal forest of Saskatchewan, well, I'd love it if you took the time to consider it now. Here is the link:

3 comments:

Barbara Muir said...

Love this.

XO Barbara

Barbara Muir said...

Hi Nicki,

Someone wanted to talk to me just as I was writing this. I wanted to say how brave you are to talk about sad times, and how wonderful it is that you paint through them. Also I'm glad people are there to help. The painting is absolutely beautiful, and the raw emotion it gives off is happiness.

XO Barbara

Nicki said...

Hi Barbara,

Sad times are part of life and to not talk about them would not be honest. Thank goodness for me painting can act as therapy. For some it is music, others physical activity... I wish everyone had a healthy outlet for their emotions.

Thanks for checking in.

XO Nicki