Painting

Blue Ridge Mountain Memories

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Here is the part of my blog where I write more about a series of paintings I have worked on. Today’s topic: Blue Ridge Mountain Memories.

Earlier this year, I had the awesome opportunity to show my artwork in the amazing town hall space in Morganton, North Carolina through a program they call Art in the Hall.

I took this as an opportunity to put together a new collection of paintings I had been sketching which I lovingly referred to as my Blue Ridge Mountain Memories. As a resident of Western North Carolina, I am very lucky to be quite close to the Blue Ridge Mountains and am always awed and inspired by their beauty.  

Each Blue Ridge Mountain Memories painting features rolling mountains and hills in blues and greens. These majestic mountains create a calm grounding presence. Each piece also features a subject of a farm person with an animal friend, a musician playing a traditional instrument, or native wildlife exploring the view. While I specifically worked on 12 pieces for the Morganton Art in the Hall, I expect there will be a few more Blue Ridge Mountain Memories popping up from time to time. 

Twilight Time

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I’m not exactly sure why I like to work in a series when I paint. It just sort of happens. They become a glimpse into my where I am on my art journey. My latest series of paintings originated from wanting to paint a white bird, flying in a sky, full of stars, in a different color combination than dark blues. I love the turquoise/teal sky, and butter yellow stars with highlights in a warm brown. It was very pleasing to me, calming. So I decided to try some other pieces, a sleepy cat, a dog, another dog, and a moon. Then a few more. There’s something both refreshing and peaceful, with this color combination. It feels like the magic of twilight. No wonder many of these characters are sleepy looking.
Twilight Time.

Sweet Twilight Moon.
Sleepy Cat. This size canvas is fairly unique for this series.
A small sleepy bunny. Of course there is a bunny.
The Sleepy Whale
An Owl in a Tree. Trying a more of a scene with this one.
Also a bit of a combination of my “Color-Trees and Twilight Time series.

Swirly Starry Skies

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The Elephant and I 

As I was completing my 100 day project I decided to work on six 14″ square canvases. Each with its own unique “story” but they all feature a swirly starry sky.

Violin On A Flying Giraffe

It has been pointed out to me on several occasions that these skies are a signature of my art. And I do use them quite often. When I was preparing for these new canvases I reached back to some older paintings I had worked on for inspiration, very much in the vein of my 2020 project. (Where I am doing new versions of 20 older works in the year 2020.)

The Kind Deer

In fact when everything was complete four of the six definitely were revisits of paintings I did several years ago. And the other two were definitely inspired by my earlier works.

Wheelbarrow Full of Stars 

I did a series of canvases featuring a village of people that gathered fallen stars called The Valley of Nod. In this story the valley existed between awake and asleep. These villagers would fill their baskets, barrels, and buckets with stars they collected, polish them up, and return them to the night sky to shine once more.

The Owl and her Rider

I’ve always enjoyed working with a square shape canvas. Now I have six little square canvases eagerly awaiting their frames!

Over the Village

If you would like to see videos of me painting all of these, visit my instagram account at https://www.instagram.com/johndavidbrown3

 

Take A Seat

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Here is a bit of a throwback to last summer. I painted a series of brightly colored chairs on 8×10 canvases in acrylic I call “Take A Seat”. I have always loved furniture and interiors. Earlier in the year I had the opportunity to work with Design Master Furniture, based in Hickory, NC, to create watercolor renderings of quite a few of their designs. A process I found challenging but enjoyed very much. I wanted to continue my exploration of various styles of chairs. My friend Andy Lominac, a designer that has worked in the furniture world and is a self-proclaimed furniture nerd, named each of these pieces.

Currently most of the collection is hanging at the Hickory Museum of Art. (Still waiting an opening date due to our current Covid-19 quarantining status in North Carolina)

I captured the process of many of these on my instagram account. I did a lot of color layering as I painted them. (above is Glenda in various stages)

I think they look really fun in fancy frames! (above is Kathrine in a gold embellished frame)

I also created a set of note cards that I have available whenever I’m able to do art shows! (The note card set includes Glenda, Olivia, Barbara, Victoria, and Anne)

Midge was the last piece I made for this collection. I based if off of a chair one of our neighbor’s had discarded. I just LOVED the shape so much. I do think their chair was beyond repair, but now it lives on a bit in this portrait!

The Star Gazers

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Star Gazing or We Make Our Own Constellations or Pizza With The Stars… I am finishing up this new painting. I’ve always been fascinated with the stars. (Minus one unfortunate semester of Astronomy 2 in college). There is something, for me at least, very comforting looking up into a night sky full of stars. I loved learning about all of the constellations and the mythology behind them. When I was younger, I even had my own planetarium I could put in the middle of my bedroom at home that would project the stars onto the walls and ceiling. I also really love making up my own constellations. It is freeing to see all the possibilities; kind of a celestial connect the dots. This also works with ceiling glow-in-the-dark stars quite well, even on cloudy evenings.

I haven’t actually had a pizza party while star gazing… but that seems like a really fun thing to do.

Making Happy Art

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There are a lot of reasons why painters paint or artists make art. I paint because I like to make happy art. I think happy art makes happy people. On some level I believe that art can make you feel better. If you surround yourself with pictures that make you smile and that infuse you with positive energy, I believe it can make you a happier person.

I try to make art that makes people smile, or laugh. My art can be somewhat child like and simple. I have always been inspired by artists and designers that work in simple bold shapes and colors.

 

Some folks may find this a little cheesy and my art a little simple… and I’m okay with that. It is what it is! It isn’t for everyone. Whether my painting is your cup of tea or not, you should find art that makes you feel good and cover the walls in your life with it! You just might start feeling better and better!

Above: Here Comes The Ice Cream Truck 2017, The Big Round Sun 2018, The Lady With The Tooty Fruity Casserole 2014, Kindness Balloon 2019

Project 2020

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My 2020 Project! (Even thought 2020 is almost halfway through!) I have been painting for over 20 years. My art has changed and evolved over the past two decades. I thought it might be fun to revisit earlier works and see how I would interpret them today. My goal for Project 2020 is look at 20 pieces of art that I created over the past 20 years and figure out what worked and what didn’t and then redo them.

The first piece in this series is The Magical Carousel. The original painting is a 16″ x 20″ canvas and it sold at an art show in my hometown of Mount Olive, NC. (Very soon after I finished it… which is awesome!) It featured four young riders on this enchanted carousel at night, under a swirly sky full of stars.

Here is a detail from the original but you can see most of it…

It has been wonderful to revisit these fun characters as they enjoy riding on a magical carousel at night. With the opportunity to do it again I added a fifth rider to the group and painted them all on a larger 24″ x 36″ canvas.

What is it about carousels that even as an adult fascinate me? They are true works of art with a foot in the present and past. They inspire imagination for their riders. Whether in stories like Something Wicked this Way Comes or even Mary Poppins carousels seem to have the ability to transport people magically even if only for a few unforgettable moments.

My hope for this picture is that it brings up happy memories of carousels and the joy of fun adventures both real and imaginary.

Cupcakes and Cards

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I made a batch of mini cupcake paintings for the Lake Norman Folk Art Festival last weekend. They are a little more than half the size of my original cupcakes…but just as full of personality!  Here are most of them arranged like the Brady Bunch.

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I also had several new card designs printed for the show and on Monday I restocked my Card Carousel I keep at Taste Full Beans in downtown Hickory! So if you happen to be near there please stop by and check them out! Also they have delicious coffee beverages and many tasty treats to enjoy.

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Under the Mushroom

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Speaking of gardens…

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So I painted this series of mushrooms back in January when it was snowing. I think I was ready for warmer weather. After I finished them, it felt like something was missing. But I never quite figured it out. Until last month when I this little guy stepped around the mushroom with his trusty rake.

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Not sure what’s going on under the other two just yet, but I am pretty happy with how this turned out!