I'm baaaaaaack!!!

Wow! I'm wiping off the cobwebs. It's literally been four years since I blogged. You can see the date of the last post. What happened? Well I'll tell you... The birth of my son! "But he was born in 2008" you say? That's true, however, I started painting again when he turned a year old. That was a moment in time when Jackson was old enough to entertain himself a bit and I was still a stay at home Mom. That moment didn't last long though, and I was back to work and busing Jackson here and there to preschool and playdates and so on. And here we are in the summer of 2013 and I've decided to dive back into it. And so, the rebirth of my Etsy shop! It feels so good to be back. Painting is literally therapy for me. And my mind and body were craving that release. However at the time I didn't realize it. It all started when a coworker asked me to do a painting for her about a year ago. And I thought, "Do I even remember how to paint?" She bought the materials and I went to work. It was as if I never stopped painting. And it felt so good. Here is the piece I created for my friend:

But life and work got in the way and painting was a memory once again. Then, I needed a new focal point for my living room earlier this year. I pondered "Are my paints still useable? Maybe they're all dried out? My tools and supplies are all in my storage room." Turns out, many of my colors were, in fact, all dried out! But there was just enough to create a new piece for my living room. I dropped a cloth on Jackson's playroom floor, plopped a few paintbrushes and tubes of paint down, placed the three canvases on the cloth and began. The heavens opened up and the angels sang! Well, not really, but it felt that way. Pure bliss! Here's the piece I created:

It's amazing how things just come back to you! It's like riding a bike. But time and life aged my skill... and for the better. I discovered a new technique then and there. I have been painting steadily since the beginning of June and I'm discovering new techniques along the way. Texture is still my driving force - the constant that I always start with. Welcome back to my blog!

Recent Contemporary Abstract Art

Textures, rich colors, depth, simplicity... Affordable Contemporary Abstract wall art for your space....
www.chaanda.etsy.com

First Stage of Creating Textured Contemporary Abstract Art

In this blog I'm going to explain my first stage in creating my Abstract Art: Texture

One of my favorite characteristics of Abstract Art is texture. Texture is so important in my pieces. Texture, actually is THE most important element of my Abstract Art. It is essential for my art to have a 3-dimensional quality to it. I have tried just simply painting color on canvas, but I always return to the texture.

Texture can be created in so many different ways in Artwork. You can use the paint itself as a texturing element by painting on extra thick or use a pallet knife. You can mix in a texturing medium that mixes in with the paint. You can use other mixed-media items such as tissue paper or any material that will give the piece a 3-D effect.

The way that I usually start my pieces is by covering the canvas with old, clumpy, thick, expired gesso. That’s right... I have cans and cans of old gesso that have coagulated into this fabulous textured medium. I smear it and stipple it and cluster it over and over until it just feels and looks right to me. Sometimes it takes two minutes and I’m done, other times I’ll be there for an hour manipulating the medium on the canvas. In these pictures you can see the textured canvas after it has dried. The final picture is showing the texture after I started painting it. Click on the images to really get a zoomed in view.

Next week I'll talk about color!!

Recent Paintings

I've obviously been into Green lately

Textured Contemporary Abstract Art: the Journey of Creation

Well my son is a year old now and I'm finding I have a bit more time to get back to the drawing board, so to speak. I've taken a year off from painting and I've missed it every second. Although... I've enjoyed so much caring for my son and watching him grow and develop into a little toddler (actually not a little toddler... he's very big for his age, 95th percentile).

Now that I'm painting again I'm really looking at my Abstract painting style at a much deeper level. I've been away for so long that it felt like I forgot my style, my technique. I didn't really though, it flowed right back out from the depths of my painting memory. But I have been hyper-aware now of each step I take in the creation of my abstract pieces. It is important for every painting or piece of Art to have a story and a bit of history. And it's important for the proprietor and/or consumer of that art to know its story.

That’s why today I want to share with you the process... the “Journey of Creation” of Chaanda’s Contemporary Abstract Art!!! I’m going to attempt to blog once a week about the process my paintings take, from beginning to end. We’ll talk about texture, color, composition, mood, and inspiration. I will talk about one feature at a time and put it in context with pictures of each stage of my process. I hope you will tune in each week as I create my newest piece of Art!

Create your Fate my friends!!!
Chaanda