Families

TITLE: Families

SIZE: 20cm x 40cm

MEDIA: Acrylic and flax weave on canvas

SOLD

The whole canvas has been covered with a weaved flax mat, painted black then dark green brushed over. The dots are all hand painted again - green, lime green and metallic gold.

This painting has significance in several ways.. The flax weaving and korus used in this piece are very traditional NZ - from the Maori culture. The flax weaving to me represents lives weaving together, laying down foundations for everything else....The korus represent rebirth, spiritual growth etc.... reaching higher and higher.

I was talking to a counsellor this week, who was reminding me of something very basic in relationships. When you meet your partner you feel that you "click" are alike, have common bonds etc. But in reality you don't. The assumptions you make are the downfall of your relationship. You both come from different families...who had different values, beliefs and ways of doing things (yes even if you are both from the same culture you can't assume you were raised the same way) Then you add in the other influences in your life...other relationships you have...what may have worked in one...and been ok...just isn't in this one.

Families ....you look the same on the outside...but look closer...and its not quite as it seems.

Anyway...I could go on and on....but that just gives you a little insight into this artwork.

Pathways

TITLE: Pathways (13/02/07)

MATERIALS: Acrylic on canvas
SIZE: 15cm x 30cm x 3.5cm
SOLD

Painted in red, black, white and grey. All the dots are handpainted by brush.

WOW!!!!

Has it really been 5 days since I last posted????

Tuesday I completed a painting (still not photographed) ... one for the JAFA's exhibiton which is fast approaching!

Wednesday I spent the whole day with Antonia hanging our exhibition at the Grand Chancellor Hotel, 1 Hobson Street, Auckland City. Its on until April 4th - so plenty of time to get there and see all the fab artwork. Quite a mixture of styles with Antonia, Tanya and myself.

Thursday I did another painting...and hated it so much I painted over it! arghhhhh

Friday I prepared 3 canvas' ready for painting. Two for Eater show (hopefully) and another for a gallery maybe...

Saturday...today...I finished another one! YAY!

Right....so now I will try and post the photos...fingers crossed it works this time!

Horizons

TITLE: Horizons
SIZE: 50cm x 60cm
MEDIA: Acrylic and modelling paste on canvas
Donated to Charity Art Auction raising funds for Student counselling in Hamilton

Heavily textured with modelling paste. Many layers of paint have been used to build this up. Painted in black, blues, grey with alomost a hint of lilac.

Stone Edge IV

TITLE: Stone Edge IV
SIZE: 38cm x 76cm

MEDIA: Acrylic, resin and modelling paste on canvas

SOLD

Inspired by the beautiful coastline around New Zealand...the gorgeous rock pools and blue clear water....

Grand Beauty

TITLE: Grand Beauty

SIZE: 38cm x 76cm each - Triptych

MEDIA: Acrylic on canvas

PRIVATE COLLECTION

Painted in rich earthy tones. This geometric painting is my personal favourite.

Cat's Eye

TITLE: Cat's Eye

SIZE: 61cm x 61cm
MEDIA: Acrylic on canvas
GIFTED to another dear friend of mine. They would give you the shirt off their back. Thankyou for everything you have done! :)

Painted in rich earthy tones inspired by the South African semi precious stone by the same name. The elipse is painted in metallic copper with a dotted pattern over it. All the dots are handpainted by brush.

Undecided

TITLE: Undecided

SIZE: 46cm x 60cm
MEDIA: Acrylic and modelling paste on canvas
Gifted to a very special person who will always have a HUGE place in my heart. This one was really meant for you all along :)

From the Core

TITLE: From the Core
SIZE: 91cm x 45cm (total size)

MEDIA: Acrylic and modelling paste on canvas

FOR SALE: email sophia@sophiaelise.co.nz

Heavily textured with modelling paste. Painted in rich Earthy colours. Made up of three panels - 2 narrow ones either side and a larger one in the middle.

Autumn Harvest

TITLE: Autumn Harvest

SIZE: 76cm x 38cm
MEDIA: Acrylic, modelling paste, leaves, black mica and resin on canvas
Gifted to my father and his wife for their new home in Australia

Heavily textured with modelling paste. The brown lines have black mica in them which make them glisten in the light. The leaves are skeleton leaves painted metallic gold then have resin poured over them giving them a really glassy appearance.

Tribal Dreams

TITLE: Tribal Dreams (Finalist in the North Shore City Art Awards 2006)

SIZE: 40cm x 50cm

MEDIA: Acrylic on canvas

Gifted to a VERY special friend and an incredibly talented artist too :)

Painted in reds and black. All the dots are handpainted by brush.

Exhibition instead of inspirational - well hopefully both still

TITLE: Many Faces
SIZE: 46cm x 60cm
MEDIA: Acrylic on canvas
FOR SALE: contact me sophia@sophiaelise.co.nz


Sorry guys....I have to take a short break from my small inspirational artworks as I have two exhibitions starting this month that I need to prepare for.

One is a joint one with a fabulous artist and friend - Antonia Marino. Feb 14th - April 1st

The other is an Auckland group of NZ Art Guild members - JAFA's Gathering March 1 - 30th at the Bruce Mason Centre, Takapuna, Auckland.

On top of that I'm preparing artwork for the Royal Easter Show art awards and entries close this month.

So the art on my blog are the exhibition pieces.

Truth # 12 - Parting of the Ways

TITLE: Truth # 12 (31/01/07)

MATERIALS: Acrylic, fabric and resin on canvas

SIZE: 25cm x 50cm x 3.5cm

Very typical of my minimalist style. Painted in red, black and white. Fabric has been applied with resin over the top. The resin drips off the sides in opposite directions (hard to see in the photo sorry)

There was a lot of different things that inspired this peice. It is very personal and reflects where I am in my life at the moment. The colours are in keeping with lot of my art this month...white and black symbolising truth/honest and lies/decpetion. Red emotions.

However there is another interpretation - red and black representing two seperate people. The white the area where they are trying to blend in harmony.

The material is meshed, representing a ladder for personal growth. Also a seive, some things we take with us others we leave behind.

The colours crossing over into the mesh of the other. Even when you part you still take away something of the other person with you.

The two pieces never quite meeting in this relationship, finally parting and going their own ways. The resin is the inevitable tears and heartbreak. Going in different directions.

"to be trusted is a greater complement than to be loved" - George McDonald

Truth # 11

TITLE: Truth # 11 (30/01/07)

MATERIALS: Acrylic on canvas

SIZE: 15cm x 15cm x 3.5cm

SOLD

Painted in red, black, white and grey. All the dots are handpainted by brush.

The quote "You'll never find yourself until you face the truth" - Pearl Bailey

Truth # 10

TITLE: Truth # 10 (29/01/07)

MATERIALS: Acrylic on canvas

SIZE: 15cm x 15cm x 3.5cm

SOLD

Painted in red, yellow, orange and white. All the dots are handpainted by brush.

The quote - "Sapiens nihil affirmat quod non probat - A wise man states as true nothin he does not prove".

In other words don't swear to anything you don't know firsthand. This was something that I spent the last year teaching my step son. I hope he can continue to put this into practice.

Truth # 9

I actually did paint this yesterday....finished it just before midnight but was too exhausted after a day of shifting, cleaning, organising and kiddies to list it.

TITLE: Truth # 9 (28/01/07)

MATERIALS: Acrylic on canvas

SIZE: 15cm x 15cm x 3.5cm

SOLD

Painted in red, black, white and grey. All the dots are handpainted by brush.

The quote that inspired this artwork is one of my favourites. I recently did a painting for my son and painted these words on the side also.

"It is easier to find a score of men wise enough to discover the truth than to find one intrepid enough in the face of opposition to stand up for it" - A A Hodge

Truth # 8

TITLE: Truth # 8 (26/01/07)
MATERIALS: Acrylic and modelling paste on canvas
SIZE: 25cm x 25cm x 3.5cm

This piece has been totally reworked as of 14/04/07 - see above

Heavily textured with modelling paste. Painted in layers of blue, terracotta and orange.

The quote reads "Our minds posses by nature an insatiable desire to know the truth" - Marcus Tullius Cicero

Truth # 7

TITLE: Truth # 7 (25/01/07)

MATERIALS: Acrylic on canvas

SIZE: 30cm x 30cm x 3.5cm

Painted in red, dark blue and white. I've used lots of different techniques in this one. It also has a slight texture to it. There were HUGE emotions exploding in me when I started this painting...I just had to get them out...and scraffeto is just a fabulous technique for that!

The quote is written on the side and reads "Honest and courageous people have very little to say about either their courage or their honesty. The sun has no need to boast of his brightness, nor the moon of her effulgence" - Hosea Ballou

Truth # 6

TITLE: Truth # 6 (24/01/07)

MATERIALS: Acrylic on canvas

SIZE: 30cm x 30cm x 3.5cm

SOLD

This is very basic....white on black...inspired by Hotere...similar to a series I did a year ago....

The paintings at the moment are very significant to me...they are a reflection of my own personal circumstances....not painted to appeal to a mass market...more a cathartic experience....

This one symbolises different aspects of life good...evil...truth...deception...pathways...directions....going round and round....and salvation is still there.....somewhere....don't give up hope....no matter how bleak things can be...you haven't seen the light til you've seen the dark....

The quote "I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. That is why right, temporarily defeated, is stronger than evil triumphant" - Martin Luther King

Truth # 5

TITLE: Truth # 5 (23/01/07)
MATERIALS: Acrylic on canvas
SIZE: 15cm x 15cm x 3.5cm
NOT FOR SALE
This was specifically painted for my 5yr old daughter Maria. She just loves these dot paintings. So she commissioned me to do one...payment in kisses and hugs! Initially she wanted circles..then she wanted all of the ones I had done previously..then lastly she asked for stick people!! lol I steered her more towards designs than people....in the end she settled for one similar to a previous one. But in her colours...purple...pink...metallic white and metallic gold

All the dots are hand painted by brush. AWFUL photo again!...taken at night in bad lighting again! I must learn to paint earlier in the day....hehehe

The quote for this artwork is a phrase my mother taught me form a young age.... "Be true to yourself" or "to thine own self be true" (if she was feeling in a more proper mood!) It took me well into my adult years to really truly understand this...and into my 30's to put it into practice. I hope my daughter can learn faster than I did!

She's got a fiercely independent streak...which is slowly being replaced with a desperate need to be a people pleaser (this is an all too common trait in women today) I want her to be true to herself.... be who you are...not who you think people want you to be...don't put on a facade because you're scared people won't like the real you... don't do things that don't sit right with you just so that you don't rock the boat and somone will love you... don't loose yourself...don't supress who you are...don't be scared to be you...you are a fantastic individual with a bright future ahead of you...! "I prefer to be true to myself, even at the hazard of incurring the ridicule of others, rather that to be false, and to incur my own abhorrence" Fredrick Douglass.

To my angel...take this message with you always...love mummy xx

To mum..thanks for the pearls of wisdom...which you may have thought I would never truly understand...put into practice or realise...but I want you to know that I have...Love you xx (bet you never thought it would pass down generations! hehehe)