Embracing Chaos  31x61cms  Acrylic  2022

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Group Exhibition 
Byron Bay - Oct Nov Dec 2022

I am honoured to have been invited to join a group exhibition at the Byron Bay Library which will be running for three months over the early summer of 2022/23.

All artists have been studying at the Byron Community College in Laneway Studios with Virginia Reid. We are a small band of artists that are addicted to the weekly practice of learning, exploring and developing ourselves as artists. Some of us have been studying and practicing for years, some joined recently, but we all do what we do for the love of it.

This piece, Embracing Chaos, is part of a trilogy which is on show at the exhibition and also seen here:
Embracing Chaos,  Embracing Change,  Embracing Love.

These works were inspired when spending a day with some fellow artists recently. We began discussing our preferred approaches towards painting. Someone remarked how she loves to create from chaos, and I said I loved to create from order.  She challenged me to paint something from chaos. This is what came on the day. I enjoyed the experience, colour and mark making so much I went on to paint two more works.  When I was painting I was reflecting on the many paths that we take in the human experience, and how some seemingly lead into chaos or nowhere, yet we all end up at the same place.   It was great to embrace the play of chaos, only to arrive at Love. 

Byron Bay Library
Crn Lawson & Middleton Street, Byron Bay NSW, 2481
02 6685 8540
 
More from this new series can be viewed here and is available online through Bluethumb Art Gallery.
Gardenia

Plant Life Drawing

In the latter part of 2022 I felt to brush up on my drawing skills. It had been a while.

Joining a Plant Life Drawing class I found myself diving into the detail and enjoying the slowing down that drawing can bring to the mind and nervous system.

Over an eight week period, each week I took a random specimen that was provided in class and sat, looked, and really looked at the negative spaces and tonal values.

The grey pallete was created due to my late arriving at class finding all the other colours for plants ie greens were being used by my classmates. I made a spontaneous creative decision to go with grey, brown and red. I liked it so much I decided to continue with this theme in this series.  

I plan to continue this series in 2023 as I have enjoyed the artistic creative and technical experience so much.

All works are on  A4 216gsm professional art paper, unframed.

The colour pencils are from the beautiful Swiss made Caran d'Ache brand in the Luminance range.

​More from this series can be seen here.
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mbp

When I come to create I often fall into a quiet contemplation and meditative space, and in that, my mind will often simply surrender to the deeper presence of silence, stillness and spaciousness.

It is here that I wait for the intention, the vision, or the inference of the ‘next step’ of my art practice.

Over the last few years I have learned the value of slow, quiet and simple; and how these can inform and enrich my work.
Purchase MBP original artworks online at Bluethumb Art Gallery.
Byron Bay   NSW   Australia
melindablairpaterson@gmail.com
All images copyright of the artist  ©  2010-2022