My hope is that my art brings beauty and inspiration to your life and home. You should be surrounded by art that sings to your heart. For a while I tried to focus only on positive and inspirational 'stuff' on my blog. The truth is, sometimes I am intrigued by the darker side. The side of pain and discomfort. This pain and discomfort is needed for all the growth & change where joy is found. Only in the darkness can you step out into the light and all that. No, not all is happy rainbows and sparkles all the time. Thank goodness for that 'cos I'm not big on the syrupy happy, happy, love joy 24/7. Anyway, all this to say, out of fear, I do tend to hide the less perfect, sleek-glossy side of my thoughts and experiments. Which is at odds to the real me, as my girlfriends who know me well 'in real life', I rarely mince my words and tell it as it is. Which sometimes contains a grain of uncomfortable with a dash of confrontation. Plus I say shit alot and drop f-bombs when I get all riled up. It's something I'm loved for... I hope. So basically I'm stretching myself to be more authentic here. It's a practice and I still get sore from stretching those under-used muscles.

LET ME INTRODUCE WHAT WAS AND IS

All this talk about darkness isn't to say that there is a darkness behind this new work. I still aim to create and release inspirational art for you and your space so you can be encouraged and brightened by your surroundings. I heard there was (or is I'm not sure) a prison in America which the authorities had painted all the walls BABY PINK! As in bright baby pink! They found it helped calm and reduce the hostility and wicked energy in the inmates. So it shows that your surroundings can influence and even change your moods. What Was and Is continues my exploration into the 2012 theme of In-Between. Which lead me into this painting that seems to talk about the cycle of things. Sometimes what was then and what is now seems to be the same. A cycle. Which can be both comforting and frustrating. eg. Sometimes you can be all "what? I thought I already went through this crappiness?! Didn't I already learn this lesson? Why? Why me?!" And just like the circle of life, there are darks and there are lights - but you know it all adds to the rich tapestry of our experience. Think about the best movies - it wasn't the ones where it was all happy, continued happily and then happily ever after. Boring! Right? The best ones, the classics that leave an impression usually cover almost the full spectrum of our emotions. (I'm not talking about trashy B-grade movies we secretly indulge in like naughty junk food and gossip mags) They bring you high AND low... Anyway, I digress... I have been noticing a lot more dark darks (in terms of colours) in my new works - at first I was worried (and fearful) but now I see how it was needed so that the colours I loved could sit in partnership with it.

What Was and Is came out boldly, in the sense that, usually my paintings change drastically from beginning to the end. But the character and elements in What Was and Is came out strongly and clearly very early on. I had to really wrestle to work in compositional balances so that it didn't become an overwhelming mess of lost moments. It's a battle with my creations sometimes here in my studio! No wonder it can be so mentally taxing.

"WHAT WAS AND IS Acrylic on canvas 14 x 14inch ©2012 Brenda Mangalore / Sashé Studio"

By the way, the title came to me instantly as well. Usually I have to meditate on the final artwork and work through my emotions and intentions before I can articulate my thoughts. This time it was a phrase that just popped into my head. I didn't know why (I still had to do the meditative work), but I guess sometimes, strong characters just jump straight out to your heart.Click Here to view the painting + close ups in the shoppe.

OVER TO YOU,

please share in the comments below

What have you been feeling too vulnerable to share? What characteristics do you see in What Was and Is? What do you like best about it?

WHAT WAS AND IS

BEHIND THE SCENES