One of the things that I haven’t done in my art career is create a painting specifically for me, for my home… until now. And I have painted 2 of them!

I’ve had a file on my computer for over 10 years where I have kept travel images that I have longed to paint, and that I would save for another day when my painting time was for me, and not in preparation for shows or exhibitions.

After this summer’s show season, that time arrived.

After 11 years of running a full-time art business, I made some decisions, all of which would give me more freedom to explore and create. Stepping back next year from most shows and closing my online shop has given me that time and freedom.

So in August, I started a project to create paintings for a very long (and currently blank) hallway in our house. I turned to that special file for images. I have chosen 3 images so far, all from the same place – Monterosso al Mare, one of the Cinque Terre towns in Italy. Why this place? It was a town I spent several days in residence on my first solo trip to Italy in 2006.

And on this trip, I had many transformational experiences. I found my courage. I said yes to just about everything (not my usual response). I made a very good friend. I spent hours hiking and on boats (both not my thing). I ran into some problems but got myself out of them. And I was scared, but also the happiest I had been in a very long time.

These paintings remind me of that trip and how I showed up.

As another new phase of my life is upon me, I want the inspiration of those moments to spur me forward. And by hanging these new paintings in my hall, I hopefully will be reminded several times a day.

Personal inspiration aside, I also love the colours of Monterosso al Mare! The warm oranges, siennas and ochres! And I also love these images because they show people living regular lives here and not the postcard perfection of the Cinque Terre. There is laundry drying on lines over the streets, bikes, satellite dishes, baby carriages, and buildings in need of paint.

Here are the first 2 paintings and a third will follow soon:

All paintings are 5″ x 7″ ink and watercolour on archival quality watercolour paper. And they will hang in my hall in 16″ x 16″ white frames, somewhat like this:

Looking forward to dipping into that special file a bit more this year and sharing what I’ve be up to!