Wow! I am going to Bologna

Last August I received an email with an invitation to participate in the 10th edition of the "Little Treasures" exhibition. This is an exhibition of four mini-format 20cm x 20cm paintings, organized by Trevisan International Art - Bologna. Referring and appreciating some of my latest artworks, published on my website and instagram, they believe my artwork will add personal and unique input in this upcoming event in November 25th - December 7th 2017.

Great, isn't it? I think it's wonderful to have this opportunity sharing my work, meeting people from over the world and connect with more artists. I love Italy, the atmosphere, the food, the hospitality, the language, the "emotione", the culture, so heck, why not go? Well, after I had been calculating what was needed for my trip, accommodation etc. I confirmed my participation in September. I invited my close friend who has always been supportive and encouraging while developing my art these past years to join me and have a fun time!  A few weeks ago we booked our flight and we will leave early morning on November 25th to join the opening of the exhibition in the evening in the old center of Bologna! Time to see and do some wonderful things over there!

While writing this, my four mini artworks are en route to their destination. So I thought it would be nice to share some painting process about these pieces. The last few weeks I took some pictures of them to share with you. It will be a surprise till the exhibition time to see the final paintings. But till then I will write a few blogs on Bologna!
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When I started I had no idea which way to go, That feeling does kind of challenge and scare me at the same time. Creating something with a time limit gives a kind of pressure, a pressure having to perform or meeting expectations of others. I definitely needed to get rid of all those kind of thoughts, because it limits me in my freedom and blocks me to be playful. Luckily I know from experience that you can trust the process. The beautiful thing with art and trusting is that it will always work out fine. It's a kind of a lovely promise!
The effect of accepting this promise in my creative process is that I relax and open up for inspiration.

Personally everything is about the process and this mostly takes time. I mean, you can always create something beautiful, but to create pieces that are truly connecting to your inner being sometimes might even take more time. And personally, I love to paint from a deep place within, digging, exploring possibilities and then decide what to bring into existence.

Here I show you my very first layers. Even though my canvases are small and I am used to work quite big, I usually start my painting process with tuning in through movement. A good exercise in connecting with rhythm and movement for me is dance and techniques I use from my work experiences as beautician and masseuse. On a small canvas I reduce them through my brush movement. Adding these elements in my first layers are of great value in determining direction in my creative process. But remember: This is one of the first layers and not yet the final paintings. 

To be continued...

First layers