THE QUIET TRANFORMATION: MAKING OF THE COLLECTION
This collection showcases the beauty of simplicity and the profound impact of embracing FAILURE.
In creating these pieces, I departed from my usual style of abstract mixed media, embracing a direction that felt unexpectedly right. It was a process of trying, failing, resting, and reflecting that led to their completion. These paintings stand as a metaphor for my own evolution, where the tumultuous layers beneath the surface are covered by a tranquil facade, illustrating a move through life's chaos towards tranquility. They encapsulate a significant lesson: sometimes, it is through a series of attempts, failures, and reflections that we find our way, transforming not just our art but ourselves in the process. This transformation, captured in the stark contrast of black and white, marks a pivotal moment in my artistic journey, showcasing the beauty of simplicity and the profound impact of embracing change.
On the outside it looks like I bought two canvas, added some papers and lace and painted them black and white. Easy, simple, fast. The creation of this collection was anything but.
These paintings began in 2015 and 2017. They were completed in 2021. They were finalized in 2024. Let me take you on their journey.
Both canvas lived an entirely different life before they made their way to me. One began as a framed canvas print, hanging in a department store in Minnesota as a decorative piece on a shelf in a clothing section. Somehow in transit or perhaps when we would store the paintings for the holidays and switch them out with wreaths, it got damaged. A hole that could not be fixed. I got to take it home, knowing I could use it as a blank canvas that was already framed and transform it into something new.
I worked and worked, adding new layers and trying new color combinations but nothing ever seemed right. Even tried an Easter themed painting one year. Pastels are not for me quite yet. It traveled with me from Minnesota to Montana where it would get re worked from time to time, never quite feeling right.
2017: attempting a collection idea
The second canvas was given to me by a friend, another damaged framed canvas print they thought I could use to make a new painting. Giving something old a new life and identity. So I did the same thing, tried out different colors and experimented with layering different materials. This was during my initial move to Montana, in my post grad mid-twenties life. A chaotic time.
Life continued to get more chaotic, as my career grew, then shrank, then grew again. I started a business, started traveling for work, and was burning out very fast. During 2020 all of that chaos came to a halt. A lot of the things normally taking up my time were gone, or made smaller. I began to paint again and discover my artistic voice.
For the first time in probably my life, I began to unravel some of the chaos in my life. I stopped drinking for year, closed down my paint and sip business, started traveling much less for work. I sifted through my life and found the places where I was creating chaos and stressing myself out, and started to work on ways to bring more calm and into my life. I started weekly therapy, and began reflecting on my life and the events that lead to to where I was in the present.
This quest for serenity was visually manifested when a simple black and white painting on Pinterest sparked an idea for a radical transformation. I had created my first two collections “Authenticity” and “Curious Minis” by this point, and had many other canvas projects and attempts scattered around my house. They started to feel overwhelming, and I was trying to make a third collection and nothing was coming together.
Instantly, when I saw that pinterest photo, I knew what to do with that canvas leaning against the clothes on the floor in the back of the guest room closet, painted half orange and a failed attempt at a creative idea.
Paint over the entire thing in black and white.
The texture below would remain.
It was like this experiment, a playful game my creativity was playing with me. I was working hard on curating this aesthetic of abstract mixed media with bold strokes and papers and lace. Could I really make a collection without any of that and just have two bold sections of color? Even though I’ve only released 3 collections on Ashley Ann Art so far, I’ve been working and painting in this style since I was 14 and have probably made over 100 paintings, never once did I have the idea to cover them up this boldly.
The layers of past failures and experiments beneath became a testament to resilience, a textured foundation over which a new vision of calm was painted in monochrome.
The peace and calm I felt when creating these pieces, adding layer and layer of white, adding more material where paint wouldn’t cover. Working to get them to a place of calm. Leaving the bottom half of the canvas I hadn’t even gotten to working on yet void of materials so the black matte paint lay flat as a contrast to the textured top.
This process wasn't just about painting; it was about finding peace amidst chaos, about the clarity that comes with simplification. The transformation of these canvases, from colorful chaos to serene simplicity, symbolizes a journey of personal growth, reflecting a phase where I began to prioritize calm and presence both in life and art.
I guess the message here is that sometimes it takes time and work and trying and failing and resting and reflecting to get to the final result. If I hadn’t tried all those other versions on the canvas before this final one, would these have ever existed? Would I have reached for them and painted them black and white if they weren’t sitting there as failed paintings? Knowing that the layers beneath represent moments in my life where everything felt so chaotic, in my life and in my brain. But the top layer is one of calm and peace, representing my ability to move forward through that chaos.
The final step in creating a collection is curation. Deciding how many pieces it will be, what sizes they are, etc. I love this part as it allows me to step back and get a birds eye view of my overarching creative themes and direction as an artist.
After I created the first two pieces of this collection, I decided it needed to be a 7 piece collection and set out to use blank canvas that I added chaos to with papers and lace and colored paint, then would cover with black and white.
2021: First attempt (failed) at trying to curate a collection of black and white paintings, pieces in progress
It wasn’t working. A failed attempt yet again. Something was off about the way the collection looked, the initial collection name, it felt forced. Because it was. They didn’t have a past life waiting to be transformed like the first two. I was trying to create chaos where it didn’t need to be. This can happen in life too, when you start to live in a state of calm more often. Your feeling of anxiety that used to feel so natural starts to creep back in, and you have to remind yourself that it’s safe to feel calm.
So I let those canvas sit in the corner again to contemplate and threw my focus into creating the business and brand side of Ashley Ann Art, building this website and getting the first 3 collections ready for release. Not looking forward to when this one’s turn came. Which I know means something isn’t right, because an intuitive hit I get as an artist in knowing when a collection is done and ready to be shared is excitement.
Then, similar to that moment when I knew exactly what to do when I saw that pinterest photo, I knew what this collection needed to be. I was working in my basement art studio that I created in 2022, another testament to me trying to streamline my life and sift through the chaos. Having art supplies and canvas and paint and brushes scattered around my house was causing stress. I cleaned out a section of our storage room and moved all my supplies in there and set up a studio for myself to go and be creative. It’s been amazing and allows me to work on multiple collections at once, not have to always clean up, and lets me leave all my pieces on display so I can contemplate them.
Again I went against an old belief that a collection needs to be large and a certain number of pieces. I questioned, “What is the minimum number of pieces a collection can be?” Two, I guess. Because one is just a piece with a story. Two is a collection I decided. And the first two pieces I created were already framed and similar in size, the other pieces I added later were not framed and were smaller so they weren’t giving a cohesive statement, which is the definition of collection.
I was working on a future collection (hint its pink) and I pulled a canvas from the corner of monochrome pieces and painted it a mauve pink, adding black and cream and rose gold paint. It was working. It’s one of the most beautiful pieces I’ve created yet. I knew then that those supplementary pieces I created thinking they were for this collection, are the beginnings of 2-3 other collections I have in the works. It was one of those creative moments that define the reason why i am an artist. Those moments where clarity comes through, after you’ve been putting in the work, and a new direction emerges. It’s a feeling i’m constantly chasing in the studio.
This collection is about failing. takikng a break. and coming back with a new direction. a fresh perspective on an old idea.
“The Quiet Transformation” is a collection of 2 original mixed media acrylic paintings. Framed and ready to hang, these monochrome paintings represent themes of transformation/renewal and identity/self expression that intertwine, offering viewers not just a visual experience but an emotional journey. The layers beneath the surface, though hidden, contribute to the depth and complexity of the final piece, much like the unseen experiences and growth that shape us as individuals.
Available Monday May 13, 2024 in the shop section of the website