12×12 in acrylic painting on canvas embroidered and embelished with beads, charms, sequins and other “treasures” adhered to hand-painted cotton fabric.
This was an ongoing painting spanning multiple months and even more mediums. It began as a pretty basic seashell that ended up lopsided and off-center on the canvas. Instead of painting over it, I decided to finish it, cut the canvas out, and adhere it to it’s former frame, now wrapped in fabric. The yellow fabric was a creative exploration of it’s own, featuring thin stripes painted in ink. The final step was to embroider the canvas painting, and embellish it with beads.
The beads became the most important decision, and ultimately the defining feature, of this painting. I had never worked with beads before, unless you count making necklaces with my 8-year-old goddaughter. She treats the beads and charms like tiny treasures, kind of like the seashells I collected as a kid with our grandmother. Her unapologetic love for all things shiny and colorful always makes me smile. As the middle child between two brothers, I often suppressed my girlier interests to fit in with them (though I did have a pink hockey stick!). This piece pays homage to all the shiny, fun, girly things people are quick to write off as childish. I hope I never stray from them again.
12×12 in acrylic painting on canvas embroidered and embelished with beads, charms, sequins and other “treasures” adhered to hand-painted cotton fabric.
This was an ongoing painting spanning multiple months and even more mediums. It began as a pretty basic seashell that ended up lopsided and off-center on the canvas. Instead of painting over it, I decided to finish it, cut the canvas out, and adhere it to it’s former frame, now wrapped in fabric. The yellow fabric was a creative exploration of it’s own, featuring thin stripes painted in ink. The final step was to embroider the canvas painting, and embellish it with beads.
The beads became the most important decision, and ultimately the defining feature, of this painting. I had never worked with beads before, unless you count making necklaces with my 8-year-old goddaughter. She treats the beads and charms like tiny treasures, kind of like the seashells I collected as a kid with our grandmother. Her unapologetic love for all things shiny and colorful always makes me smile. As the middle child between two brothers, I often suppressed my girlier interests to fit in with them (though I did have a pink hockey stick!). This piece pays homage to all the shiny, fun, girly things people are quick to write off as childish. I hope I never stray from them again.
