Sunflowers & Pears Painting

​This is the completed painting below that I entered into the Nanaimo Arts Council Pop-up show called "First Friday, Celebration!" located in the Network Hub, a shared office space and meeting room in Nanaimo, BC.

"Summer Sunflowers and Pears" mixed media 36" x 36" 2015-2016 by Lena Rasmussen 

At the beginning of August 2016, I entered one of my happy sunflower paintings into an art show at the Nanaimo Arts Council. I named this painting "Summer Sunflowers & Pears". The new local pop-up art show was held at the Network Hub in Nanaimo called: "First Friday - Celebration!"

Sometimes I have a really hard time trying to complete a painting. For this painting, I re-painted over certain areas of this older completed painting, because I was unhappy with the colors. I still liked the sunflowers and pears, so I let them be. Really? How unlike me to not destroy another painting! I had actually started a different painting for this pop-up show. It was a beautiful purple iris from my spring garden that I thought was working, but then all of a sudden I started losing confidence and I started getting very stressed out about how to continue. In other words, I guess I didn't plan it all out and I was starting to hate it. So I switched to this painting I had completed some time back, scolding myself, "to not destroy this painting too! You better not destroy it, Lena!"

I love using really vivid colors when I paint that make me happy. I took half of a large sponge and cut it into the shape of a circle. I poured straight cadmium orange paint onto a palette and dipped the round sponge into the paint and started dabbing circles onto the background. Just going for it! Trying to get into the mode. So I worked on it and didn't give up, and still parts of it I did not like (I shouldn't have added the pinky color onto the rim of the bowl) and time was running out and the deadline was looming closer... 

Closing in on the drop-off deadline to bring the painting in, I quickly gave it the "Okay, just say it's done, and even if it isn't done, be done with it! Just let it go! Get going, time is running out!" and I dropped it off at the pop-up show for hanging, about 30 minutes before cut off time! I am very good at self-sabotaging my plans and I was determined to not to fail once again! This was the third art show this summer that I had entered one of my paintings and two of the shows I had to cancel at the very last minute, because I couldn't beat the deadline. So embarrassing!
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​This painting below with the dark purple in the background is the first painting I completed and entered into a different Nanaimo Arts Council members show in 2015.