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A new opportunity has come to me and I'm accepting it with gratitude, courage, and flexibility. I hope to soon be teaching arts and crafts courses to the military community, from toddlers to adults, and I hope soon I'll be able to share more with you. Such an exciting opportunity to learn and grow in creativity with others! Stay tuned.
Our moving process began one year prior to us departing and I have found it difficult to cultivate a creative energy. I have been busy snipping the small threads of our lives in England while simultaneously trying to re-sew them into America—all while ensuring the whole piece didn't unravel!
But last week I felt a wave of creative roll through and the citrus painting above is the result. The process was fluid and organic; pure emotional release pouring onto the canvas. While the piece is not completed (is any piece ever really done?) I wanted to share, because maybe it's just what you needed to get your creative energy flowing again, too. It's official – we have moved back to America! In 2015, my husband and I moved away from Washington, DC as two, and are now returning back as a family of four.
Some of my supplies is being shipped, so in the meantime I'll be sharing new inspiration on Pinterest. I'm making plans to re-engage the studio and my art practice now that this major hurdle of internationally moving has been cleared. Part of this will be reintroducing Instagram—my previous account was a personal account and has been made so again, so a new fresh art account has been created.
The piece pictured is the latest to sell. It was made before the sun rose. Hot coffee in front of me, tempting my paint brush to rinse itself as usual. I have an affinity for cottages and love the Scandinavian color palette—bright and muted in just the right places. Birdsong was playing from my iTunes and only two small lamps lit. Inspired by some photos as we traveled Norway in... well, it seems like another lifetime now. During the creation, my block-out ripped the paper. Although gutted, I tried fixing the piece with a 3-dimensional effect making the cottage removable. The result is wonderful. This piece will continue its story in a new space and my heart is full.
It's 2016. My finger hovers over the ‘return’ button, ready to send the email where I explain to my awesome boss at my awesome job that I am leaving. Simultaneously, my first child was 10 months old and trying desperately to walk but falling instead, grasping the air while fighting for independence. You might know the stage. I hesitated because I had already given so much of myself to creating, birthing, and caring for this little human. How could I possibly let this part of me go? How will I explain my absence of a “steady work history" after leaving my career to care for my children? I've been thinking of updating my resume now. Soon it will be time to reinvigorate my career, but the question still stands: how will I explain the shift in my timeline. I read articles but most I found were largely unhelpful for my experience and situation. They were directed towards those laid-off, or changing careers, or quitting and traveling, or similar. None about motherhood. This position is not often referred to as a "job" but why did it feel so much like one at times? What exactly did I do doing those years? Turns out, I did a lot. Too much at times while always thinking it was too little. It turns out I never had a lack of steady work, but was tasked with increased responsibilities and I adapted in kind. I'm planning to use a cover letter to explain my personal goal and how it has been achieved. While I've been out of the "game" for a while, I feel more prepared than ever to take on greater tasks with dynamic teams. Let's see how this goes. I'm pleased to reveal the final 2020 commission piece. It was incredibly difficult to keep this commission a secret for so long. This piece was a Christmas gift and it had to be kept a secret as its for one of my amazing friends. During our last catch-up he mentioned wanting something for his house and I had to steer him into not buying something until "after Christmas". I'm not one to be devious so this was terribly difficult! We love the painting so much! I can't wait to get it framed. I was totally surprised!!! It's gorgeous... It's literally so beautiful – your talent is amazing."
A sunrise and sunset landscape duo will be entered into the Peterborough City Gallery exhibition. I love watching the watercolor washes interact. New colors emerge and shapes are defined by saturation and transparency. One more painting to make for the exhibition and then will be submitting the last week of October. Exciting!
I received a lovely note yesterday and it absolutely made me joyous. The connections I make with each Collector is very important to me. Over the last few months, people from all over have written me an email and it really warms my heart. A huge thank you to all of you! I just wanted to thank you for sending your beautiful artwork so quickly and for packaging it so carefully. We truly adore both of the prints and are so looking forward to hanging them in our home (I’m working on the framing). Your artwork is amazing and you are so very talented. I am thrilled that you’re finding a way to pursue your passion—it looks like it’s really working for you! Much like a screen print process, I have experimented using Ultramarine, Lemon Yellow, and Cadmium Red. I layer in that order on the paper. The secondary and tertiary colors created were very fun to uncover. I focus on the tints and shades of my focus, leaving white space as the main highlights. Overall, I think I prefer the monotone blue best, but the end result is also beautiful.
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Images are ©Ashley Stuart. All reproduction or use of images is prohibited without written consent. If you see an artwork that you would like to own, but it's not in the shop, get in touch and I'll try to make it happen!
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