How on earth did these colorful, feminine, sassy and imaginative little divalicious Glam Animals come to be?
Well, like most of my artwork, they were not planned. It all started with me just playing in the paint, one of my favorite, most expressive ways to create. I was taking a class focused on texture at Art & Soul Nashville, a nonprofit arts studio dedicated to supporting individual creativity, personal growth, and artistic development. As Lisa Binder, the instructor, was showing us a few different texture techniques when my excitement overtook me (like it normally does when I’m learning something new that I’m passionate about). Every technique she taught and a few of my own favorites landed on one canvas.
As always, I ran with it! I started out using stencils and Golden Gel to create a raised pattern on the canvas. Then I used a Gelli pad with acrylic paint and stencils and started making my own papers. This was the day I fell in love with Gelli Print making, and I remember it well! As I began putting down my papers around the raised gel stencil pattern, I could feel my creative instincts kicking in and taking over. I rolled up tin foil strips, played with shapes, and added in some cat eye rimmed glasses just for fun.
As I stepped back, I saw so clearly the face of an animal starting to emerge. I knew I had tapped into something special. Now, if you ask me, it’s a fashion faux pas not to pair animal print with bright red lipstick (I feel very passionate about this!). So, as I started to paint the face of my emerging animal, I knew she would be right in style with shiny red overexaggerated lips.
C’mon, you know even animals want plump lips!
Then came the eyes and everyone knows when it’s time to get all glammed up, the eyes matter. They make a statement, and you know I love a statement! I painted these big, bold, and lifelike features, and of course, her lashes nearly flowed off the canvas. I added tissue paper for even more texture, a few strands of ribbon, and a dash of glitter. It was at this moment that the idea for Glam Animals was born. Since the creation of my first “glammie” not even 2 years ago, so many more have come to life!
People often ask me if I have a favorite Glam Animal, and I’m reminded of growing up as a farm girl (let’s link this to my song and merch on the music page) in Nebraska with every animal you can imagine. I didn’t have a favorite back then either, I loved the whole herd of animals equally. Oh Deer, Pretty in Pink, and Wide Eye Wanda are definitely a few of my top contenders. But to be honest, each painting perfectly and uniquely captures the essence of my creative expression. I can look back at a painting and feel the joy it brought me to create it. The art process can be messy – literally, and there is truly such a satisfaction that comes from turning a blank canvas into something beautiful. My hope is that whichever painting you choose, it brings you as much joy every time you see it hanging on your wall as it brought me creating it.
To see the Glam Animals collection, plus my other artwork, check out my website Art.CandyCountry.com.