‘Sweet Indulgence’ – Happy Times

Hi Everyone,

I think it is about time to start blogging about my art. Many of you have known me as a professional art conservator / restorer who works on damaged works of art and makes them look great again. Over the years, I have treated thousands and thousands of beautiful but damaged works of art. This included areas of missing paint that required careful in-painting precisely imitating the painter’s style and colour pallet. Using different pigments, mixing my own colours, matching original colour scheme and learning different paint techniques has always been a fun part of my profession. However, one thing was missing. The artwork was somebody else’s and regardless how much satisfaction it had given me to perfectly imitate the artist’s style, and regardless of how lucky I felt that I had a profession that I loved, there was always something missing …. And that was IMAGINATION & SELF-EXPRESSION … it just wasn’t needed … but I really wanted to show it. So here I am. This is the place to use it and I am so excited about it. Here, I can explore, improvise, use colours that excite me and in as much abundance as I wish. My mind is buzzing with ideas, and ideally, I would like to create everything that I am thinking of right now.

And why am I so into it now and not before? Well, I have always painted but I have never found the time to do it for a prolonged period. It may sound cliché but it’s true. So, why have I found the time now? There are several reasons. The most important one is that I have ‘slowed down’ recently because I am at home with my little one who is just a few months old. Workaholics like me will understand that unless something like this puts a stop to you working days, nights and weekends… you just never stop. But now I have slowed down and my mind is buzzing with creative ideas. It’s unstoppable…

Also, I can’t really work in my conservation studio due to different types of chemicals, solvents etc. (that are typically used in our field) while caring for my little one. But my house is big with huge windows and plenty of natural light, so an ideal place to paint. Nothing beats natural light. Furthermore, the little one has long sleeps so as long as I time things well, I have many hours to paint between the feeds.

And what’s the other reason why I want to paint? It’s simple – I am happy. I am so unbelievably happy that I can barely contain it in me. And my happiness demonstrates itself not only in a relaxed mind that then buzzes with creativity but the joy also shows itself in the colours that I use. Everything and I mean literally EVERYTHING, right now, should be pink … pinkpinkpinkpinkpink … thousands of shades of pink! You may have noticed that many of my works so far are in those colours – fluorescent pink and magenta being my top favourite. The reason is simple – I am happy, relaxed and content. So, I paint with cheerful colours and the pinkier they are, the better!:-)

Now you understand why and how my collection called ‘Sweet Indulgence’ has come to its existence. I hope you will love it as much as I do because I am painting with love, peace and happiness. There are many more pieces to come as part of this collection as my imagination has no boundaries, and I am far from truly exploring my current pallet of happiness. I genuinely hope that my paintings will make you happy and if they touch that special place in your heart, then please share it with me. I will be delighted to hear from you!

Wishing you all the best especially now in such worrying times. Keep safe, healthy and happy, V xx