Each set of paintings creates a slight shift in my painting. It’s this continuous evolution of my voice that excites and inspires me. Generally it’s a new inspiration song that will impact my brush marks, but in the case of the three Maddies it was colour that created the shift.
The three Maddies, as I call them, are Madison, a 12X36 and two 12x12s, named Madelyn and Madeline. The three have a huge, lush botanical feel to them. No big surprise as I have a propensity to fill every inch of a canvas with something. I don’t think I’m all that comfortable with negative space (something I’m currently working on). The shift I experienced with the Maddies revolves around the use of red; a colour that I don’t enjoy working with and which was never a consideration for my limited palette.
Prior to starting the Maddies, I had just completed a commission, Marley, and Marley has a beautiful bright red in her background. As I created this glow of red with Quin Crimson, I fell in love with this red. So versitile. Add a touch of yellow and you have this delicious colour that’s not quite red, but not quite orange. Brian Buckrell, one of many artists I learned from once said in class that “if you add red to a painting it will sell.” With Marley, the red really made the difference. And bonus; with Quin Crimson I was able to create this spectacular rich, deep purple. I enjoyed painting with these two new colours so much that when I went back to the A Million Dreams collection, I kept the Quin Crimson on my palette.
My system of painting, where everything harmonizes with each other, enables me to add a colour, mid-series, without harming the cohesiveness of the whole series. My sliding scale primaries, and the custom grey mix that I use to desaturate, means that every colour that I mix fits in with the other colours. It’s sort of like using colours to decorate your home; you use a common undertone in your paints and fabrics so that there is a cohesive feel as you move from room to room.
Madison, my big beauty, has this tall path of soft petaled blooms. At the top there are passages of bright red. Then amidst all these fabulous shades of green are these purple blooms that are just downright yummy. The best part, according to Mr. D, is the lower left where I created a bright ‘corner’ as the flowers pass into darker areas.
Madelyn and Madeline are like small snap shots within the same jungle. Madelyn is more blue leaning with the essence of both a pink and a red bloom. Madeline is the most gentle of the three with soft pink being the most prominent colour embracing greens and blues.
I really enjoy this group as they stand well together and apart and because they are the first set that included the Quin Crimson on my limited palette. I’m not real fond of reds and they can be really challenging to work with, but the new sliding scale red I created allows me to develop some amazing purples and punchy oranges that I didn’t have easy access to prior to this.
True story.
Music-wise, Dancing in the Moonlight was crossing my music stream a lot during this point in time, but the song most influential with this part of the collection is Perfect Strangers by Jonas Blue and JP Cooper. The song has a really great rhythm that gets me moving, but the best part is this horn section, that apparently is digitally created, but it sounds like a mix between tubas and trombones; it is my favourite part hands down! I can’t help but smile when I hear this song and that rhythm definitely influenced the rhythm of the three Maddies.