Category Archives: Evolution

Painting Small + Large

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Me painting my first painting of 2021, Saturday Morning, 36×36 Acrylic on Canvas

It’s hard to believe that just two years ago, I created a small series of 2×2 paintings that I turned into magnets, given that I am currently working on 36×36 canvases. These miniature paintings were a lot of fun to create, but I have to say I like painting large pieces more. But I feel fortunate that I am able to scale my work both ways – smaller and larger, because painting small is so much different than painting large. In some ways I think painting smaller is harder than painting larger pieces.

I once heard another artist say “painting large is no different than painting small; Just use a bigger brush.” I totally disagree. When you get used to painting larger pieces, then drop down to smaller sizes, I think several things happen. While I don’t know if this is true for all artists, it definitely is for me. When I paint small, my work can get tighter, which is frustrating as I tend to prefer a looser style.

2×2 miniature paintings turned into magnets

Psychologically speaking, I also think the healing benefits I get when painting large outweigh that of painting small. I can pour tremendously more emotion into a big painting than a small one, and the freedom I feel when painting large just doesn’t compare to what I feel when creating small paintings. I also find that anytime I switch gears (going small to large or large to small), I go through an adjustment period, almost as if I’ve forgotten how to paint.

In 2019, my preferred size to paint was 9×12, and I guess you could say that was my still life year. I created several abstracts that year, but mostly I was trying to work on my observational painting skills, and improve in that area. Below is a still life painting I created that year.

Onion Still Life, 9×12 oil on panel, 2019

I have a goal of continuing to increase the size of my paintings. In my upcoming book, Abstract Painting for the Absolute Beginner, I recommend to my readers that once they become comfortable with the size they are working on, to size up, and keep doing that until they are creating a size they desire. My main size in 2019 was 9×12 and my main size in 2020 was 24×24. This year, in 2021, it looks like my main size will be 36×36, and next year my goal is to work on 48×48 canvases.

Tentative Book Cover, Release Date March 15th, 2021, or sooner

Beyond that, who knows what I will do. I think much of it will depend on if I move my studio or keep it at home. Right now my studio can only accommodate up to 60×60 paintings.

While I could definitely paint 48x48s this year, I want to grow into these larger sizes. I really think we grow accustomed to the sizes we are working on, and we build up skill in producing that size. I don’t think it’s just a matter of the size of your brush. 😉

– Lori

Energy Series

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I initially titled this series “Fearless,” but since then I’ve decided to change the title to simply “Energy.” These pieces feel very energetic to me, and I realized while painting these pieces that I would love for all my pieces to have an energetic feel to them.

Top Left: Pink Crush
Top Right: Dark of Night
Bottom Left: Hot Summer
Bottom Right: Lucky Ladybugs

Each of these pieces is size 12″ x 12″ and is on gallery wrapped canvas. I’ve even revised my artist statement based on this series. I have never felt so attached to pieces as I do these. I truly feel like they captured a piece of my soul and flowed out of me so naturally. I feel as though I hit a breakthrough with these pieces and evolved my style through these. My revised artist statement:

I consider myself an emotional painter, and early in my painting journey, I can remember being nearly paralyzed with fear in painting abstracts. Despite this fear, I knew abstract work was my true calling. In the beginning, it seemed as though I was afraid to unleash my emotions. I was also concerned with getting everything just “right,” which made it hard to even begin.

I eventually learned to express my emotions and rely on my intuition to guide each brushstroke. My paintings continue to evolve with each painting session. In my work, I focus on trying to create energy and embracing fearlessness as I try to experience something new with each painting. My pieces are representative of my emotional state at the time the piece is created.

Painting has saved me time and time again, but just as important as art is to my mental health, I love creating a feeling of energy with my paintings.

I am going to add more to this series, probably quite many, because I “feel” these pieces. I originally intended to release all the series together, but I decided to go ahead and post the first four. They can be purchased on my website.

Don’t forget to follow me on Facebook (facebook.com/loririvera.art) and Instagram (instagram.com/loririvera.art), and thank you for following my blog. 🙂

My Evolution Over the Past 10 Years

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I thought it would be fun to dig up pictures of art from years ago, show them here, and talk about how I have evolved as an artist. So to start things off, I’ll show you a couple pictures from each year beginning with 2009 (the year I started painting).

2009

2010

2011-2012
I couldn’t find any pictures of art from these two years. This is probably because I was taking care of my daughter, who was born in 2011.

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

Soul Existence, 48×36, 2017

2018

Great Change is Preceded by Chaos, 20×20, 2018
Losing Your Mind, 20×20, acrylic

2019

Breathing Fresh Air, 2019, 30×30 acrylic on canvas

As you can see, my art has gone through many stages as I have tried on different styles. I think this is normal for many artists as they are finding their way and their voice. I still don’t feel like I’ve totally found my voice as an artist, but I always keep trudging along in the journey of finding it. There are also so many styles of art I like, which makes it difficult to narrow down what I want to do the most.

In 2018, as you can see from my photos above, I thought that abstract art was my calling…expressing my inner most feelings through color, line, and other elements. Then I took a still life painting class and a couple sessions of figure drawing in early 2019. I don’t think I regularly painted objectively for a long time because I didn’t have the confidence to do so. Taking some classes gave me an extra boost and now I enjoy objective art and have gained the confidence to tackle it.

It will be interesting to see where I go from here, although I have a feeling I will keep doing what I’m doing — creating both abstract and objective art. Every time I think I have it all figured out, something happens in my life to change things up or I get inspired by another artist, which influences my process. After all, we don’t create out of vacuums. Our creative output is the result of a combination of things, from outside influences, our mood, life experiences, etc.

One thing I do now that I didn’t in the beginning is mix my colors. And hopefully my work looks a little looser now than in the beginning.

Overall, I am happy with my progress as an artist. I think a measure of success for me is growth, and I feel I have grown overall as an artist in the past 10 years. I think my art continually improves, and that is exactly what I am trying to accomplish. Out of the twenty pieces shown on this page, nine of them have sold. I consider that an accomplishment too!

One of my goals as an artist is to loosen up more and I hope I can loosen up in the next couple years, even though it’s hard to put a timeline on something like that. I hope to continually evolve and improve throughout the years. If there ever comes a time when I feel like I’m not improving, that’s when I will have to change things up somehow.

So what about you? How has your art evolved over time?

~ Lori

How I Became an Artist: The Job That Changed My Life

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I am a visual artist living in Southwestern Indiana who publishes art related blog posts regularly. Sign up to receive updates from my blog at the bottom of this page. 🙂

I never thought taking a job as the Coordinator of a peer-run recovery center would change the course of my life as it did. I took the Coordinator position in December 2012 and my favorite program at the center was our arts empowerment program, which promoted art as a healing tool. At the center, we helped individuals who struggled with mental health issues, and I, too, struggle with depression.

I began painting in 2009 but took a prolonged break from creating while my daughter was in her infant and toddler years. I picked up a paintbrush again during my employment at the recovery center in 2013, and after two years of not painting, I fell in love, once again, with the creative process and the healing benefits it provides. I continued to paint as much as my time afforded, and in 2014 we held the first “Art of Recovery”, an art show featuring artworks created by individuals in recovery.

A piece of mine that sold in the “Art of Recovery” 2015 show:
“Fragmentations”

fragmentations

While I enjoyed my job, I was also being strongly called in a different direction at the same time — to be an artist. I eventually took the leap of faith in 2016 to pursue art full-time and I have never regretted this decision. Would painting have chosen me otherwise had I not worked there? I know it would have; however, I think the process of becoming an artist was sped up by the nature of my day job. Being surrounded by art and artists was so inspiring. I also say that art chose me rather than I chose art. If you are born to be an artist, art will find you one way or another, sometime during your life.

Art has really saved my life in many ways. When I am creating, it is like time stands still and I enter another dimension – one in which my work and I exist and all my despair and worries disappear. Even when I’m depressed and the thought of picking up a paintbrush sounds like the most tedious task in the world, once I get going, I really do feel somewhat better. My depression doesn’t disappear necessarily, but for the moment in time that I am creating, things don’t seem quite as difficult.

I do find, however, that creating is something I need to do daily, or at least almost daily, to keep the momentum going. Art is like anything else. It is easy to push aside and skip out while your other life responsibilities take precedence. Due to this, I must make sure I stay on some type of art-making schedule.

I believe that everything happens for a reason and I believe one of the reasons I had my job at the recovery center was to help me develop as an artist and find my way a little faster. Who knows where I would be today had I not held that position. I think I’d be an artist of some kind, but I think that job put me on the right path.

Art has helped me so much in life that I try to pass this on to my daughter. My husband and I have her in art classes and I am hoping art will be an outlet for her as it is for me.

If you are an artist who struggles with anxiety, depression, or another issue, I’d love to hear how art has helped you in your journey, and also how you became an artist.

Lori

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