“In April 2020, after 11 years of pretty much painting full-time five days a week & creating a large online presence, creating guidance cards, holding regular art workshops & retreats , & building a successful career out of my art, I decided, after feeling overwhelmed & burnt out, to take an extended period of time off and paint soley and only for me.(as opposed to painting to sell). I had no idea how long this would last and I didn’t retreat completely, I still posted my art online but it was merely to share my expressions of my inward journey. Amazingly ,these artworks all sold. This surprised me, as I had a complete change of direction and theme for my artwork… I painted women’s faces, faces from my imagination, faces from my meditations, faces with symbols & totems, faces with abstract shapes & nature. I emerged from this cocoon in about July of 2021…. I was over faces lol!In March of 2021 I went on a magical trip to the South Island of NZ with my husband , and it had a profound effect on me. I took 3-4 months to process , to sit with it all before starting on my series on the bold unapologetic terrain of this raw untouched land, it was palpable, the energy of it was in me. The effect was that I actually change not only the theme of what I was painting, but my style as well , this land begged for simple lines and no fuss, not something I was used to! I started with the Milford Sound & Moeraki Boulders, and it soon evolved into stylised landscapes & random rocks, layers of land, more so echoing the Coromandel Peninsula as the months past, and of course injecting my adoration for the ocean in with them.
Layers. Depth. Pieces of the puzzle. Stepping Stones onward … the Journey is ongoing & evolving with every creative experiment. Because let’s face it every piece I do IS an experiment. As an Intuitive Painter there is no planning or conscious thought as to how or what a ‘result’ will look or feel like, it is just starting and going with that flow, and I know the feeling… when it’s ‘right’”
Right now? Outdoor butterfly art is where I’m at! – in progress..
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Reina Cottier Art 