New beginnings and a reflective look back at 2023.
A new year is full of potential. We dust ourselves off, cast off the old, and look forward to new adventures with hope and excitement.
Where will this new year take you?
2024 has already begun but before we get too far into the new season I thought it might be nice to pause and take a reflective look back at some of our friends from 2023’s paintwall journey. “Who were they and where are they now”?
“Don’t be afraid of putting on colour. …paint the essential character of things, generously and unhesitatingly…” Camille Pisssaro
“Passage”, 24” x 24”, Acrylic on Gallery Canvas, 2024.
Delivering the MANDART New Year’s Painting.
The first bloom of 2024 has made it off the paintwall and been installed at The Fairmont, Winnipeg. She joins small works representing all of The Pulse Gallery’s artists, in a winter show called, “WUNDERLUST”.
In my end of year clean up ahead of the Studio Pop Up I came across half a tube of a discontinued, surviver, Golden’s quinacridone red light, my long time favourite acrylic colour. That’s where this painting began. If you have a tube and are willing to part with it , PLEASE, call me!
The underpainting of “Passage”, above, was done in that luminous soft choral pink that l love and it peeps through to the finished surface of this little floral gem. 24” x 24” is a very manageable size that provided for a great way to get a new year of painting underway and finished in time to add it to The Pulse Gallery’s “WUNDERLUST”.
This show is a bit like wanderlust that adds U into the equation. Wander on down to the foyer of the Fairmont any time between January 10th and February 7th . There you will find “pleasure and delight” if you take “a little roam about”, acording to Merriam Webster.
“We love this energetic yet elegant painting.” -Pulse Gallery
“Wonderland: Soul”, 48” x 48”, acrylic on panel, 2021.
The Artist Residency at The Fairmont continues.
Meet the new kid on the block, above. “Wonderland: Soul”. She has recently moved in to the Fairmont Hotel to join the big three greeters at the entrance. You will find her adding colour and a cheerful welcome to reception. She has replaced “Big Pink” who has moved on to her forever home with Canada Life.
Side note: In my tiny studio I can’t always accomodate big pieces like this so blank walls in my husband’s office often come into play as part time storage. “Wonderland”, was much loved where she was waiting in the wings, bathing in sunlight and overseeing the work of the newest partner at LTGLC Law Firm. Moving her out required a stealth covert operation after hours to orchestrate that change which has left a fresh blank wall, for now, at LTG law Firm.
Storage storage storage.
Art comes to the party and sometimes the office. Art brightens a sunny space and can also become the light when none is available. “Poetic Liscence”, recently took up temporary residence at a friends windowless clinic for a win win arrangement.
“A bright and fresh new look on the eve of the darkest night seems fitting". A big thank you to @mandartcanada for hanging these beauties on the physio clinic wall today. Mandy has been hanging her art on my therapy walls for almost a decade. Her art is like therapy itself… colourful, and expansive for all to enjoy.” - Dona Watts Hutchings
“Big Pink” 48” x 48”, Acrylic on Panel, 2023
New directions forge a new path.
“Big Pink” was the beginning of a new direction for me in my painting process in 2023. She was also a reminder that change really is a constant. Unusually, “Big Pink” features black in the under layers after more than 20 years of studio practice without using black in any form at all in my paintings. I liked the direction these new marks inspired and the invitation the process offered to explore the new. Working on this piece reminded me that following the road less travelled can lead us to new and unexpected beginnings. And that’s never a bad thing. This new beginning has her own new beginning as the newest acquisition made by the Canada Life Art Committee.
Your opinion matters.
I don’t know about your household but our family of 4 can struggle with consensus, sometimes, over the simplest things. The often posed, what’s for dinner, can inspire a plethora of emails and opinions. With consensus not always part of my day to day, you can imagine how pleased I was to receive the following note.
“Big Pink” was delivered to Canada Life at the end of the day yesterday. Congratulations again; always an honour to be included in a corporate permanent collection! Even more of an achievement when 9 members of an art committee must ALL be in agreement! Cheers from all,” -Pulse Gallery.
Above are the four large paintings on display as “The Fairmont Suite”.
“They are stunning in the entry and hallway. Great energy greeting visitors to Winnipeg”, wrote @anxietyartcurator on instagram.
They have garnered a lot of positive attention and will remain on display through the spring at least I am told. If you’d like a refresher on their background stories you can read about them on the FAIRMONT SUITE BLOG here.
We get by with a little help from our Pulse Gallery friends.
Having accepted the inviation to join Pulse Gallery in 2023. I have had to relinquish some of the control I have over my studio practice. And one of those things is meeting new people through our common connection to colour. Being one step removed from interractions with new friends I was pleased to receive some feedback recently, and very glad to know my work has gone to a new home where it will be loved.
To put the feedback into perspective I can share that In the painting below, The word CHI was inscribed in the underlayers. This was my intention when I began to paint. I might not always have a plan but I always try to be intentional. Starting now work with a single word is a practice I am committed to.
In this case I tried to imbue the piece with the energy of a journey. My journey was with paint and composition on a 2D surface. The journey continues with the viewer. And, I love that the viewer completes the puzzle of the narrative my art inspires, from a different perspective .
If you would like to listen in on the backstory of the painting below, I recorded an episode staring, “Going with Flow”, in Season 2 Episode 9, of Wisdom at the Crossroads, PODCAST. You might like to LISTEN TO IT HERE.
“Going with Flow”, Acrylic on Canvas
Art is a great way to start a new beginning.
I love the connections I have made through my art over the years. I may not have been privvy to this conversation but I was very grateful to hear of it through the following note.
“The young couple who were interested in “Going with Flow” decided to keep your gorgeous painting :) They really appreciated the opportunity to try it at their home.
The young couple recently got married, and they felt that the bright path in the painting represented the exciting new journey ahead in their life. The beautiful colour palette was a great factor in their decision, but the meaning they saw in the piece played a big role.
They told us "We will treasure this piece forever at our home, that it will remind us about the path we decided to take on!". - A, from The Pulse Gallery.
A big congratulations and many thanks are going out to this young couple who have chosen to begin their new chapter in life with my art in view.
“The Path”, 18” x 24”, acrylic on panel, 2023.
Endings and beginnings.
I ended my painting year with one last commission, that was actually a “4 for.” This one was initiated by an employer to honour a retirement. If you know me you will know I don’t ever suggest buying art as a gift. Our opinions are subjective and its good to keep it that way. Afterall, nobody wants to live with something they don’t love. On the other side of that coin, I can say with all certaintly that no artist ever wants you to live with their art for any other reason.
The recipient of this commission was an old friend who has a collection of my art from the earliest beginnings of my studio practice. We had a history together and it was a fun project to be a part of. Given the unusual circumstances, I created more than my usual 2 pieces for this project. I was not up to surprising the recipient and so offered an invitation to preview the group of 4 paintings in person, I may have killed the surprise but I got a front row seat to listen in to someone’s “thinking out loud” decision making process. It was a fascinating look into another persons thought processes that might become it’s own blogpost in the future. Suffice it to say all is well that ends well and “The Path” above, that carves a visual journey into what lies ahead across the horizon, was the chosen one.
This painting was a bit of a new direction for my work and I look forward to seeing where this new year will lead me.
Pop ins and Pop ups.
Spontaneity was a thing there for a minute in December so if you missed out because a Wednesday on the lucky 13th with short notice didn’t work for you, I apologise. We had a lovely afternoon and evening reconnecting, with those who were able to join us in the sharing of stories and a common connection to colour. My friend CJ joined in to help out and I was most grateful. It’s true, we really do get by with a little help from our friends.
“Even if you are not in the market for art, time spent among Amanda’s colour-filled, joyful work will fuel your soul, ease your breath and lighten your step.” CJ wrote @cjtennantjewellery on instagram.
Reflection.
The New Year seems to be inspiring a clean up in our basement at home. It was there in my former sewing room that my daughter unearthered this reflective look back at my younger self. She seemed shocked to know I was once younger. ..Werent we all?
Oh what we could say to our younger selves.
I kind of want to give her a hug, to let her know the words she subconsciously chose each year were meaningful and apropriate, and that she was destined to meet all manner of wonderful, creative ,seekers, and supporters, along the way, for whom she would always be grateful for.
Finally…
This is by no means an exhaustive list of 2023’s productions but thank you for reading to the end of this blog. I really do appreciate your intyerest in and support of my work.
If you have questions or comments please feel free to drop me a line by replying to the newsletter, via email atonchulenko@mymts.net, or find me on Instagram here.
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Sign up for my newsletter. It’s free, and a reliable way to stay connected. (I’m talking about you Instagram algorithm!) I try to produce a monthly note. Sometimes the studio holds me hostage so my newsletters will be as little as seasonally and occasionally biweekly. You can rest assured, though, there is absolutely no chance of me inundating your inbox.
Curious about other artwork?
Where can you go from here? You can go back to the Gallery Page to view available art work on this site or head to The Pulse Gallery Winnipeg to see what paintings of mine they currently have on display. You can also pop into The Fairmont Hotel Winnipeg to meet “The Fairmont Suite” in person, or read about the project on the blog here.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Until we connect again,
all best, Amanda
