Pieces Of Our Journey ~ A Couple's Painting

"Pieces Of Our Journey"

August 2016

Mixed Media on Canvas

36" x 48"

When Darren Edward and I first moved in together back in 2010 life was pretty blissful. Even though Darren didn't have much experience with art previous to our relationship, we would often find ourselves making small pieces just for fun. But we had yet to create something together! I had made this large scale canvas for a client but it was obvious to me that it wouldn't stand the test of time. That being the case, Darren and I decided to create something on it instead. We started off with a fun flowing "do whatever comes to mind" type abstract using acrylic paints. Then we drew on the patterns and the window. These have special meaning to us because we used photos from our travels as references. The complicated pattern was inspired by a design decal that was in our hotel room in Istanbul. We were in awe of the intricate beauty in Turkey. The less detailed pattern was inspired by some gorgeous floor tiles we admired in the Vatican City. Still to this day Italy is one of our favourite places to travel and we'll likely be going there for our honeymoon this spring. Lastly, the window is inspired by a stunning window on the Dublin Castle. Dublin was the first place we traveled together and it really solidified to us that we were the perfect travel partners. The unfinished piece hung in our room for many years and, as predicted, it warped atrociously. With our wedding coming up we decided to re-stretch it onto a solid frame and complete it so that it could be the center piece of our tent. We filled in the patterns with acrylic markers, I built up the crackle paste side frames and painted them a vintage gold. And lastly, I filled in the beautiful window with thin layers of acrylic washes and acrylic markers. It was done just in the nick of time and looked gorgeous up at our wedding. To make the piece even more special we decided to sign and date it right after our wedding ceremony. It now sits above our bed in our cozy little dungeon and we'll surely treasure it for the rest of our lives. :) 

____________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________