Out of the Blue and Into the Pink

I received an email last night, out of the blue, from Oli Brown.  Oli Brown is a 22-year old Blues singer from the U.K.  He was here in Canada this past summer at the Jazz Festival in Mont-Tremblant, Quebec.  I was fortunate enough to see and hear him sing, and he is one talented guy!  I spent the weekend at the Festival with a gang of friends - it's a beautiful area, and we had such a fabulous time.  It wasn't just about the music, but enjoying each other's company, which often enough, with the hustle and bustle of daily routines, friendships get side-tracked.  Anyway, I was soooooo excited after returning from the weekend away, after snapping close to a thousand photos (that's really easy for me though), that I started painting like a mad-woman again.  Isn't that such a great feeling, when you've been inspired, when you actually hit the nail on the head, without taking much time out, to really contemplate the need for what you're doing?

That's me though... I do things on a whim often enough, erm... with my subject matter in paintings, so this was no real surprise.  Subject matter, for me, is not something that should remain a constant, although there was a time when I felt the need for this... but not anymore.  When I was really young, I thought I was going to replace the Archie comic artist, as all I did was copy (not trace) those drawings... when I hit my early twenties, I thought I was going to replace Robert Bateman (HAHAHAHA - ya right)... and now that I've returned to painting, and although I still love wildlife, I have no ideals other than to just paint... paint... paint... whatsoever I so choose, and to do so a-la-Lisa-O'Regan.

So, the first paintings I did after the Blues Festival were two small ones of Thornetta Davis.  You know how these Festivals work, three to four stages, or more, set up here and there, each occupied by a different artist, different times, you get a schedule, and you coordinate your timing to get in as many acts as you can.  We arrived at Thornetta's stage near the end of her performance, and we were WAY in the back, but when I saw her, I weaved my way through the crowd, leaving my friends behind, till I was up front.  She was mesmerizing.  I know, sounds insane, right, but she was, and I knew right then and there that I had to paint her, so I snapped away, until she was done singing.  It was quick, and I was so disappointed for arriving so late, but I got some good enough shots to work with.

This was a quick 5" x 7" that I did, and really enjoyed it, so I did another one.

Isn't she just amazing?!  I thought she looked beautiful, and it was the hair, the beads, and her fabulous dress that made me truly want to paint her.  So I did one more of her, and this time, it was a 13" x 20" watercolour.

Singing the Blues - 13" x 20" - Watercolour - August 2011

Now, how could you NOT want to paint that dress?!

Anyway, after painting Thornetta, I found her on Facebook, and sent her an email to let her know that I had just finished these paintings.  She loved them, and posted them on her page, and even as her profile pic.  How gratifying that was for me.  I wasn't looking for anything more.  I had been inspired, I painted, and I received approval.  Isn't that what it's all about?  So, on to the next, were my only thoughts.  

Oli Brown was next, and you're probably thinking, FINALLY, she's getting back to the point of the whole damn email thingy that she mentioned in her first sentence!  So, yes, I painted Oli Brown next, and although I was happy with the painting, my desire to paint singers from the Blues Festival had waned, and it was time to move onto the next subject... like I said, that's me.  So, because my interest had somewhat faded, I didn't persue a search for Oli Brown.  I respectively posted my paintings to my Facebook profile, as well to my DeviantArt page, and then went on my merry way to start something totally different, the next thing that tickled my fancy.  

BUT, last night, guess who contacted me?  HE HIMSELF - YES - OLI BROWN, sent me an email, mentioning that a Canadian friend had seen my painting on DeviantArt, and had forwarded him the link.  He loved the painting, and basically wanted to know if it was okay to post it as his profile picture on his fan page on Facebook.  Why, of course he could!  AND why not, right?  

Oli Brown - 13" x 20" - Watercolour - August 2011

Anyway, where I'm really going with all of this... with all my excitement about hearing from Oli Brown... it's just to say that sometimes getting unexpected news like this, out of the blue, is the most rewarding gift that anyone could receive.  I was tickled pink.  It was not all for naught.  I did okay after all.