The big, the bold and the beautiful September 23, 2020
There’s something magical about standing in front of a huge painting. It comes to life, oozing energy, emotion and inspiration. And I love painting them!
Imagine, after a long day at work, or school, or just running around after the tireless kids – you finally get home and have a moment to yourself. A big, bright painting greets you; its scale draws you in and instantly uplifts you with its vibrant energy. This is the beautifully healing and inspiring power of art, and the impact is only magnified when on a larger scale.
Large scale artworks can be a bold focal point in a room, as well as a unifying element that defines your aesthetics and sets the ‘mood’, whether that be calming, nurturing, inspiring, energetic or fun. While art comes in all forms and sizes, there’s something special about immersing yourself in a huge painting and feeling its emotive power wash over you. It suddenly nudges you to pause for a moment, to appreciate the beauty of life, to live boldly, and smile.
Lately I have been painting many large scale #Urban Queen paintings, commissioned by collectors eager to beautify their homes, especially during these tumultuous times. It turns out I love painting at scale and seeing these magnificent blank canvases come to life.
For this recent painting, I layered on multiple shades of pinks, reds, oranges and other vibrant colours, building shape, depth and texture as I went along. I love that you don’t have to be super precise with a large canvas (at least for the base layers). There’s something so freeing and empowering about just splashing a bucket of paint onto the canvas and seeing how it sticks, runs and trickles. The results are different every time and give a uniqueness to each painting. Then, I gently add more paints on top with different sized brushes and techniques. In this way, I build more and more texture and colour until my painting pops.
Adding the gold leaf to the sunglasses is my favourite part, imbuing this painting with its #Urban Queen ‘crown’. The gold adds glamour, whilst also speaking of the resilience and strength within each of us. This painting represents a woman who is bold, courageous and confident in her own beauty (inside and out), but also tender and feminine. A woman who embraces all the varied parts of herself and lives life to the fullest.
The bold and bright colours lift the energy of any room and inspire creativity. The light will bounce off the golden glasses, radiating positivity and giving a soft glow to the space around it. The large scale magnifies these effects wonderfully.
The whole painting process takes a few weeks but this is a true labour of love. If you can even call it a ‘labour’. Painting unique, large scale pieces is actually a whole lot of fun – my studio was buzzing with activity, music and laughter as I was painting this!
My greatest joy comes from seeing these large-scale paintings hanging in a collector’s home and knowing that it will bring energy and inspiration for many years to come.
Question: where would you like to see a large painting hanging in your home and what would the painting be of? What feeling would it convey or what would it say about you?
Let your personality shine throughout your home with large paintings that represent and inspire you. Don’t be scared of scale and bright colours. Always be true to yourself and live life big, bold and beautiful.
Artfully yours,
Ramona
