JUST BREE ART HISTORY 2016
This post is a timeline of my year 2016. I’ve been wanting to document this for a long time but just now getting around to doing it. 2017 to be posted soon!
Year 2016 was the start of my art, end of my art schooling, and start of a video business. This post is truly for myself to look back and see how much growth has taken place, and just to remember the good times.
Some background, 2012-2016 I was studying Art/Graphic Design at BYUH and had grown up painting oils with my mom since I can remember. She’s a landscape impressionistic painter :)
February: got a drone for a company my friend Roxy and I started, and fell in love.
Absolutely in love.
I had to paint it. So I went out and spent $400 on a canvas and oils because that’s all I knew. I sat down to finally paint scene I had taken a photo of from above and I knew my oils wouldn’t cut it. Could they move the way I wanted them to? I got on google and asked “how to move paint like water” and it came up simple. Fluid painting: can be done with acrylics or resin. I grew up with resin in my hometown of San Clemente and that being the way to fix a board. So I went to my hardware store and bought the resin I’ve seen my friends and family use. But one site pointed out resin. Of course! I grew up with resin when it came to fixing boards and went to the nearest store to get some. They were closed. Cue sleepless night dreaming about what I wanted to create.
First piece ever: done at 6 am because I was so excited to try it. Now I saw how the resin was able to move. Time for another.
This was my second piece and I wanted the sandscape to seem like it was golden hour and the sand was reflecting pink skies as the water turns turquoise.
I was finally ready to try what I wanted to. I worked out some kinks, changed the type of resin I was using and got started on the first ever Beach park. That morning in April when I placed a clear coat, I not only sealed the first beach scene I had in my head, I sealed my fate. I wanted more and I needed more.
Resin is an expensive medium and when my friend Heather came over, (she took this photo) I was telling her how much I wanted to do it, but was scared to blow what little money Bobby and I had. She was the first person to encourage me to start a business of selling them so I could make more.
It took me several months to get the courage to sell them and thousands of dollars of experimenting/wasting canvases on bad paintings but I got my feet off the ground with the help of family and friends.
This was the fourth or fifth beach scape I did.
This was one I lit on fire on accident...
And come August, I showed for my first time at Mermade Market! It was awesome and grateful I had that opportunity.
This is one I was proud of. I hadn’t been so in love with a beach park since the first one I did in April. Four months later I was able to find that pure stoke again. As an artist, you sometimes have streaks of great paintings and as a new one in this new art form I had a rocky start in my confidence. This painting gave me the confidence I needed to go back to Hawaii and keep creating.
More drone :)
Around September I started seeing more and more resin on my Instagram explore page. I’m sure it’s because I posted a lot of resin, but I was inspired to make coasters after I saw another artist doing tt with clear resin and objects. I even sent her some to say thank you for giving me the idea (she would put flower petals in hers) so cool.
By the end of the year, it grew faster than I thought and had done about 85 paintings. I took on some commissions. My brother helped me paint the biggest pieces I have yet to beat. And this piece encapsulated my year in the best way.
I named this one Ehukai, it was formed after the same surf spot the original drone photo was taken, and is still a favorite of mine to this day.
I am so grateful for all the support and love I got in this new and upcoming form of painting. I couldn’t have completed so many works in the first year without the help of close friends and family. Thank you.