Art by Diane Knight

I think dancers are perfect for this new technique.  Learning to give up control.  This one painted on profile canvas which is my usual substrate.

First painting using a new style.  I’ve wanted to paint this lovely woman for ages and when I started using these new techniques, I knew she would be perfect.  Painted on sealed paper so if anyone was interested it would have to be framed.

You have to be a dancer to maintain this pose. Love her positioning in this ray of sunshine. Photo credit Vic Kirby.

Late Morning Light Acrylic 12 x 12

I’m not doing much dancing these days but that doesn’t mean I can’t still wear my good shoes.  As a matter of fact I think there is more reason than ever now and so I shall.

Red Shoes – 16 x 12 

Working on making the figure more abstract and getting away from normal skin tone. I cropped this figure and turned her into a floating mermaid.

Mermaid Dreams Acrylic 12 x 12

In my dreams I sit by the edge of a still lake. In my dreams the last of the days light casts it’s shadow. In my dreams the cool water beckons. In my dreams, whoa…what am I doing without a top on????

In My Dreams
Acrylic 16 x 12

“There is freedom waiting for you,

On the breezes of the sky,

And you ask “What if I fall?”

Oh but my darling,

What if you fly?”

Erin Hanson, Poet

But my Darling, What if you Fly?

This painting took me over a month to paint.  Not because it was complicated.  Because life was different, very different.  I started the painting before COVID 19 was declared to be a Pandemic.  I was comfortably in my rented Studio space.  After just playing on paper for so long, I just wanted to do a simple portrait from a photo I took in Barcelona.  I wasn’t sure I would finish it before our upcoming month long trip to England, Spain and Portugal but hey, it was pretty straight forward.  Until…  I didn’t return to my Studio for a couple of weeks after it was recommended to self isolate.  When I realized the isolation was going to last for a long time, possibly months, I decided to move some of my stuff to a corner of our condo.  It was different.  It was strange.  Not near as comfortable as what I had become used to.  It took me a couple of days but I started to work on my painting.  Everything I mixed turned into caca.  Caca.  And I paint colour.  It took me days to gain enough confidence to try again.  I covered the caca with some bright colours, all background at this point.  Then an hour here, a half hour there, I painted a bit, not really knowing what I wanted to do or where the painting was going.  I stayed away from it for over a week.  I woke up this morning with the realization that I was actually afraid to finish this painting.  Why was I afraid?  Because it meant this might be my new normal?  So this afternoon I let myself go and just painted.  Changed everything about her face, changed the background, changed her hair.  Then just signed it.  Now I am mesmerized by her.  Maybe I have found a new normal. Only time will tell, of which I have a lot of right now.

What is Normal, Anyway?  Acrylic, 16 x 16

Inspired by the vibrant colours of Oaxaca City and seeing the movie Portrait of a Lady on Fire at the International Film Festival there. The movie is in French and because we were in Mexico the subtitles were in Spanish. I can speak some of both languages which probably scrambled my brain even more. So this painting is a reflection of inspiration and scrambled brain syndrome.

Lady on Fire – Acrylic 24 x 8

Don’t you just love it when you can just stroll down the street stopping to buy fresh flowers, fruits and vegetables! This vendor had the most beautiful flowers.

Street Vendor Guanajuato Acrylic 12 x 12