My first inspiration to paint Enlightenment was sparked by my trip to Asia a few years back. I was admiring a pond of lotus in Ubud, Bali and I thought to myself, got to put some of those in my paintings, which I did in various figurative artwork, in the background or foreground please see below:
After painting Courage II, I felt the need to make the lotus my main focus for my next painting which means a new genre of paintings is born: Landscape. Enlightenment I and II are both large paintings 24"x48". My discovery about painting flowers is that they are not easy to paint, as a painter I wanted to showcase the fragility, the dimensions and multi faceted layers of the flowers, these elements are definitely challenging and patience became my new best friend! I also love to put movement in my artwork so for Enlightenment I and II, I set out to do so by painting the curves and turning of the leaves. I remember painting them for hours with soft music in the background to set the mood, consuming in each petals and resting in between only to come back with my eyes buggy and sore. The finished paintings proven to be time well spent and every buggy eye moment was worthwhile. I hope you enjoy them as much as I have enjoyed painting them for you.
Exploring a new genre has brought me even more inspirations for my future work and more skills to my painting knowledge. It's always good to learn something new, it's like being a child seeing things in a different light. My advice for anyone that wishes to try something new, go for it and let the challenges guide your journey.