October 2021 - Seasons of Colour / Walls and Windows / Summer Within

Seasons of Colour

As we slip out of the seasons of colour and prepare for the white, colder months up ahead I am feeling grateful for having been able to marinate in the vibrancy of Summer and Fall and reflect some of those shades and dynamics in my latest paintings.

This past summer I was able to participate in a virtual artist residency with a group of women called Thrive Art Studio. It had a summer-kiss twist to it, with plenty of moments to soak in nature. Some part of my soul needed to touch the sea, to wander on an island wild with flowers and colour, to paint and sketch along misty coastlines and breath in the open space that surrounds lighthouses and infuses meadows.

Trekking through woods and down vibrant green paths, and being in that air rekindled something in me; a new inspiration and a remembering of life's perfection.

Fall Studio Time - The Continuation of Walls and Windows

During the residency, between the road, a city studio, and a barn in transition, paint tubes, brushes, canvases, sketch books, pencils, watercolours and green tape accompanied me. The dance of all these things continued to swim and swirl in my hands and spirit, as I slowly fleshed out the impressions and inspirations on return to my studio.

From there the ‘Walls and Windows’ series, which I had began in March 2020, further development. It initially focused on the experience of ‘confinement’ during the quarantine period. In some ways, the earlier paintings from this body of work acted as an escape from a hard, intense and confusing reality into a softer, more expansive and colourful imagined world.

For example ‘Dreaming in Confinement’ is directly about my thoughts of the warm places and hot beaches I visited in my mind while in the studio, during a winter lock down.

Up here in Montreal we are accustomed to dreaming of such realities through the colder months, but instead of giving in and succumbing to a purchased plane ticket and making that fantasy real, this time the sense of dreaming was accentuated with the awareness that it had to remain an idea through the entire winter.

These works are also reflective of the psychological and social changes and confinement that we've experienced around us and in us; such as practising social distancing (both physically and mentally), enduring multiple lockdowns, and navigating the divided reality we have now become. We continue to live in interesting and challenging times. And we also continue to find our way through it all.

The Summer Within - Filipino Roots

For me, these paintings reflect the exterior environment of nature here in Quebec, as well mirror the warm colours that resides within. My Filipino roots are apart of my summer within.

The sense of family. The warmth and ability to celebrate and laugh. The gathering of friends and loved ones, especially around food. The smiling eyes and deep compassion. The playful manner and love of community. These things are my summer within.

More on my mother's journey to come. How did a young woman, from a tiny island in the Philippines find herself on the other side of the planet, trading warm sandy beaches in for white winter snow? Stay tuned for herstory, as well as for further updates, details and developments on the Walls and Windows series.

To keeping connected, creative and compassionate! And as we head into cooler nights and days, may the summer within stay vibrant and alive!

Verona xxx