"REEF" Finished Painting!

Hi peeps, 

I finished "Reef"!

This painting was incredibly fun to paint. I used acrylics for the entire process, and really enjoyed it. 

My one critique of acrylic I think would be that I can't get whites as intense as white gouache, so I have been using Titanium White Gouache for highlights and bright whites.
Gouache doesn't layer on top of acrylics tremendously well, as acrylic is basically a plastic once dry, and doesn't absorb paint, so gouache can bead a little, but since I used my acrylics quite watered down and rarely very thickly, it was thin enough to work well in this instance as the paper was still absorbent through the thin washes of acrylic. 

This piece will be the print for February, and I will be sending out packages this week, if all goes well. 

The UK is now in lockdown, which, as far as my boyfriend and I are concerned, hasn't changed our lifestyle much, as we have basically been self-isolating for about a month now anyway. I do however need to do some post office runs, and will have the sale orders and patron rewards to send out this week, so I'll be making sure I use a mask (which I have a couple of from back when I was a makeup artist and worked in workshops, which I am so thankful for at the moment) and have as little contact as possible with anyone.
I am so ridiculously grateful to my post office people for staying open and being amazing. I might buy them a gift of some kind, because they are troopers at the best of time, but even more so now. 

Guess who else I am ridiculously thankful for? You guys, Obviously. Be prepared for me saying this all the time, but you are all freaking incredible. Damn. I have a little video catch up that I'll upload later this week, but in the meantime I'll keep saying it : you guys are precious humans and are too wonderful for words. 

Anyway. Back to the painting. 

This is the first painting I created for the WOWxWOW show "Fiends of the Dark" in April. It's an online show so it should be going ahead, and I'm glad it is, as it has been a welcome distraction right now, and a nice goal to focus on while the world burns. 

Painting 2 will be "Parasite", which I shared some WIP pics of last week.
I actually just finished that one, so I'll be posting a finished pic very soon.

These 2 paintings will no be available as prints on my shop until the show is over (after the 24th of April), but patrons $20 and above will have "Reef" as their Feb print and I might make "Parasite" the April print. I want to make another painting for March. 

WHAT THIS PIECE MEANS TO ME 

I want to start talking a little bit more about the pieces I share with you, as a few people have asked.
I say a lot that my paintings tend to be very open to interpretation, and that that is sort of the appeal of them for me too, but, in truth, I do have my own point of view on them too. 

I don't go into a piece with a specific intention or clear meaning ever, but by the time I have finished a painting, I usually have had an interpretation shape itself in my mind. 

For this particular piece,  its meaning came to me right after its title.
A few of you have mentioned how you think it looks like coral. That wasn't a conscious decision on my part, but I fully see it too, and it probably resulted in me choosing that title in the end. 

Both paintings I created for this show are based around the concept of some sort of life form feeding off of or stemming from a human head.
Both pieces include butterflies feeding from the life growing from the heads. 

REEF for me, is a representation of the duality of life, the fact that life comes from the death of life, as well as the fact that life alive helps life stay alive. If that makes sense?
As humans, we have a strange relationship to life and death. We are acutely aware of their relationship, but seem to oppose it, to reject death and be confused by life. We have a complicated perception of what one is to the other, and our confusion can lead to a certain existential crisis and loss of self. 

REEF refers to the the idea that coral reefs are shelters and places that allow life to thrive, but it also refers to shipwrecks, hidden obstacles, tragedies and turmoil. The red organism is growing from the face, and it is unclear if it is invading it or growing from it. It is stopping the head from being able to see, and hear, and speak, but has also become a shelter from fragile life forms, such as delicate butterflies and spiders. 

Did you know that butterflies are often a symbol associated with the human soul in many lores and cultures? 

I like when the elements in my pieces are dual in their meaning, and this piece is no exception.
Again, it is unclear, to me at least, whether the red branches are an invader that is stifling the head, or a life from that found fuel to grow. The butterflies are life and beauty, but could also be representative of past lives and dead souls. The webs are a sign of life too, but are deadly traps for the delicate white butterflies. The red limbs are the reefs upon which the insects are thriving, but those same insects are also feeding off of bleeding wounds in some of the cut branches. 

This is my favourite type of theme to explore, the duality of life and its intricate and intimate relationship with death, and how it all intertwines and dances together. 

Anyway. 

I would LOVE to know what you guys think, feel, and how you see this piece. 

I hope you are all doing well, thank you for sharing your stories and updates about yourselves, keep them coming if you feel you want to, I love getting to know you a little better, and I love having a chat. 

Lots of love, 

M