2024: The Year of Brave Exploration
The holidays always leave me with a renewal in creative energy. I imagine that it must be made available from time spent in deep rest, (something I should probably do more often). The New Year always ushers in a big burst of creativity for me. The desire to endlessly paint with the insane optimism that I can create whole collections in a matter of weeks.
It never fails that I also have the intense need to rip beautiful cotton paper into small pieces for intimate landscape studies. The medium doesn't seem to matter. Last year it was watercolours and gouache, this year it's oil pastels.
I'm guessing it's the need to play. The idea of releasing any pressure. That I can create dozens of beautiful little landscapes on paper and throw out any of them that I don't like.
2023 brought with it time spent exploring new places with my children. New places that have haunted my memory and brought excitement into my creative practice for the year ahead.
I can't wait to delve into these landscapes: Joshua Tree, Tofino, and Southern California again. I'm excited to also add exploration into my creative process. I plan to explore new mediums and new ways of creating and sharing my work with the world. Mediums like oil pastels and ink. I think I might recreate work from the same reference photo in different mediums, something I've never really done before.
I plan to create landscapes in multiple sizes from absolutely tiny to the largest I've ever offered!
As mentioned in a previous email. 2023 was the year of creative freedom… maybe too much freedom. This girl needs a deadline, something to work towards. My plan for 2024 is to release new collections in seasons. I've spent some time planning the year ahead and have penciled in release dates into my calendar. New collections including originals and fine art prints will be made available each season.
A year of brave exploration wouldn't be complete without a plan to visit more beautiful places. I'm putting it in writing that I hope to visit Yosemite National Park, Big Sur, and maybe even Zion National Park this year. Regardless of where the year finds me, I'm sure to seek out beauty in nature near or far.
The best place to keep up with all of the work coming out of my studio is to join my collectors club and watch your inbox for collection previews, release dates, and other exciting things. I also plan to be more involved in my blog this year to share my process more intimately behind the scenes. I would love to hear the things you're interested in reading about from my studio.
xo, Rebecca