Welcome to this monthly series, where we trek into my studio and sit down for a light drink. Please take off your shoes and I will hang up your coat. Is this wool?
My drink this month is meant to kick off a fête of sorts. It is a toast to the celebration of a new year, with anticipation of new artworks to see and new ideas to explore.
The aperitif today is Lillet Blanc - a fruity sweet wine of an aperitif, on its own it’ll taste florally orangey and piney. But we will mix it with a celebration champagne and add a twist of a lemon to our coupe glass.
Starting off, I find it weird to return from a four-month hiatus and then celebrate my upcoming projects and ideas, of which I have not revealed any to you yet. Consider that you’ve stumbled upon my studio on the eve of something exciting. I am just about to pull the curtain back, but before that, we’ll toast to the future.
This past year was a building year for me. I created paintings that I am truly proud of, delving into mediums that I hadn’t used in a very long time. It was a moment when the ideas in my head aligned with the skills of my hands. Up until this point, it was especially difficult to explore new subjects and mediums due to the feelings of starting over and not knowing what to do.
But, despite this new sense of achievement last year, I found myself constrained by my own limitations to churn out the volume of work I’d envisioned. I am one who over-commits and builds grand dreams, of which I recognize few people could achieve without sacrifice.
It’s important to note, however, that this past year was also my first as a dad. And I have no regrets regarding the sacrifices that were required of me to make. Let’s raise our glasses in a proper toast.
Cheers to the journey ahead.
Where am I finding creative inspiration?
Over the holidays and the darker months of winter, I doubled down on my sketchbook and gave myself the freedom to explore new ideas. Any artistic inspiration was on the table, whether it had any legs or not. I challenged myself to remove the boxes I had put myself in. It was joyous to come out on the other side with so much artistic motivation and ideas.
I continued my passion for architecture and interior spaces, leading deeper into textiles, patterns, and lighting. These were complimentary subjects that contrasted my previous focus which was solely on landscape painting. I found myself learning about vintage alpine furniture and how fabric patterns interact within a space. Landscapes weren’t the only characters who could give up an answer to the question — what makes us human?
Breaking away from my previous boundaries, I remembered how much I love writing. There were so many creative breakthroughs in art that had come to me from prose. Some of my more recent artworks have missed that narrative aspect and I am excited about the prospect of bringing it back.
I let myself write poetry, a format I had never used before. It became a meditation practice, something spiritual propelling me forward through this creative endeavor.
"Tell me more about vintage alpine furniture.”
I’m so glad you asked.
When the months get cold, in the travels of my own imagination, I leave the coasts of the Mediterranean and head up to the Alps for new creative musings. This year, as I wandered Pinterest, I kept seeing a type of wooden chair in old ski chalets and homes. Eventually, I found out these chairs were called Tyrolean Chairs.
Tyrol is a historic cultural region of the Alps, crossing both Northern Italy and Western Austria. Think of the Dolomites in Italy and Innsbruck in Austria.
I think it was nostalgia that initially drew me to these chairs. They felt so simple yet distinct, brutal yet inviting. They are a humble statement of memories but fresh and inviting for modern tastes. They felt right as characters on the stage of my artistic drama.
I imagine the experience of sitting in them, around a table in the dark of a winter night. There is a metal pendant lamp(which has been there since the seventies) brightening the scene below the low ceilings. A few loved ones are there making the atmosphere bright and cheery. Maybe a game of cards is being played, my favorite is y and an alpine aperitif is also enjoyed.
What to expect in the coming months.
In this next month, I will be revealing a couple of new oil paintings. One is pictured above. I also have a small series of watercolor pattern paintings, which have actually taken up most of my time.
I’ve teased one of these oil paintings at the top of the page. I haven’t fully titled this one yet, it is being referred to as Mountain Interior Oil Painting No. 1 at the moment. It has become a great example of how I’m merging interior design with landscape art. The painting is of a mountain being viewed from a window.
Two things were most exciting when I painted this work, the first was the time of day in the painting’s setting. I was nervous to paint a twilight landscape, but once I got the right colors mixed, the mountain background essentially painted itself. The second was the curtain fabric and pattern in the foreground. Personally, I’m very excited to sew a set of curtains in my own house like this, so experimenting with it in the painting fulfilled that itch a bit
The watercolor series is an exploration of two-dimensional patterns. I’ve been inspired by interior pattern work, from both textiles and hard surfaces designs. The works are painted in conjunction with my oil painting scenes.
One of the watercolors this month was as a study of a rug pattern in Cerulean Blue and Venetian Red. Once I started, I couldn’t stop using these colors in one artwork alone. So this became a mini-series or blue and red along with a few other winter-inspired patterns.
Additionally, you can expect more social media from me. I had a great break and time off, but I am very excited to continue providing updates and announcements of finished works. I am revealing a different tone to my social posts, which I will say more of in another post at the end of this week. There’s a new direction, language, and creativity coming.
Well… it looks like we have finished off this bottle of champagne. If you’d like you can take the rest of the Lillet Blanc home with you. Thank you for fêting this moment with me, it was special to bring you into the studio.
Sometimes it can be too early to celebrate something, but I have honestly been so excited about my artworks and this coming year that I couldn’t wait any longer.
Santé, salut, a bientôt.
Ah, I almost forgot, here’s the recipe for next time:
