"Go Big or Go Home"

Friend and fellow artist Andrew Lautner coined this phrase (atleast I believe he coined it) when discussing the merit of painting large format - and I concur.

In part, the concept of working on 10x10 canvases is to allow flexibility for hanging art in small spaces. However, I couldn't resist using a total of 9 for my first venture in this series. I set out to design canvases for the reputation area of my place according to the feng shui bagua.  The number nine is lucky when used in this area.

As an area enhanced by fire, I used triangles, yellow, red, and rose as primary design elements. The surprise bonus is (drum roll....) animal print! Animal prints can be used to enhance fire areas because they represent fast, very active energy. I was so excited when I learned this - I really dig appropriate use of animal prints...

I combined canvases using very simple design with more complex layouts to keep the overall composition balanced and not too busy. The zebra print adds visual texture and gives some organic interest to the very geometric nature of the other squares.

Here's another pic, to show how these canvases relate to the other components of the room.

Next, I'll embark on another series of nine using the same theme for a non-specific location. I'm also plotting for the health area of my home.

New Series: Mixin 'n Matchin Elements

It can be difficult to find enough wall space to accommodate large canvases. It's also pretty tricky to paint all encompassing feng shui solutions for the needs of a gazillion places I've never been.

These two constraints are the inspiration for a new painting series. All canvases will be 10" x 10". Each canvas will be designed with a particular element in mind - wood, fire, soil, water, or metal. The canvases can be used individually or grouped with others to create a perfect feng shui solution specifically for a particular location.

Of course, I will be guinea-pigging the idea in my own place :)

Here are the first few Illustrator sketches that I will turn into paintings:

The wall space I'm looking to fill with art is in the "reputation" area of my place according to the bagua. This is a fire area. Rose, yellow, and red are all fire colors and work with the existing color scheme of the room. Triangle is the key symbolic shape for fire, hence repeated throughout the designs. Metallics are good for me in general, so I've worked silver into the color pallet (this room could use a little more metal anyway :).

I've got a few new tricks up my sleeve too that I'll unveil when I post the completed installation!