I have been interested in single brush strokes since I started playing with watercolors in 2015.  When considering LINE as a subject that is where my mind went first but there are other ways to interpret line.  Here are some of the images that fill my Pinterest Board - Inspiration.

To see more, CLICK HERE.

I am also considering line in my own work and I have found that lately there is a pull towards more curved line and circles. But strong horizontal or vertical lines still dominate many of the pieces.

​I had no intention of being an artist.  I was a chef for 15 years but somehow that never felt like a creative outlet. So when I discovered the Women of Strength series, it took me by surprise and it took me over. I painted the women non-stop.
So when the manager at West Elm Montreal contacted me about possibly doing a calligraphy workshop {she followed me on instagram}, I told her that I wasn't quite at that level yet.... but I have these paintings... could I show them at a pop-up?

I had no idea what I was doing but I knew how to create an event so I focused on that. I sent out invitations to anyone and everyone I could think of, whether or not I knew them personally.  I got the paintings framed and packaged, set up my square and waited for the masses to arrive.
​
Oddly enough, they did come and they did buy and that first whirlwind event was my before and after moment.

For all of that first year, I said yes to everything presented to me.  Can you paint those women in CHOCOLATE? Yes, I used to be a chef, no problem {it turned out to be very challenging but tons of fun!}
Can you do live painting at our fashion event? Yes that sounds like fun!  
Can you paint 10 canvases for an event in Toronto? Absolutely I would love to come to Toronto to paint. {I found out months later that it was for the Canadian launch of Essie's Gel Couture line!!!}

In that first year, I said yes to every event that came up and each opportunity reinforced that people enjoyed my work.  It was so gratifying to feel like I had finally found that passion that people talk about.  I was 40 but I felt like I was 20, I held the world in my hands. I just had to say yes.

It was by no means a typical first year and my years since have not been nearly as full.  But it reminds me that there are opportunities waiting for me if I make myself available.  That each chance to show brings something. And that one of the reasons I choose to create is to share it with the world.

I have to say yes, get uncomfortable, try something different and then say yes to the next thing.

When I moved into the studio on Saint Ambroise it felt like this romantic moment of becoming an artist. {In fact, I had been an artist for 4 years prior to that moment.} It felt significant, like a declaration and it was perfect for what I needed it for - taking photos, meeting artists and clients.
When I decided to give it up, it felt like a huge loss at first. It felt like I was letting go of the dream. So I decided to use it as my studio, to paint in it for the month and see what the reality of having a studio was like.
Needless to say, the dream and the reality did not quite mesh.

Yes, the studio had gorgeous white walls and tons of natural light. There is space to store finished works as well as a place to paint. My studio mate is incredible and the building is filled with other artists and creative businesses of all sorts.  It felt like the place to be.
Painting there was fine but getting into the flow proved difficult. After the 15-20 minute drive {depending on Montreal traffic} and finding parking, settling into the work took a bit of time. When I did get to work, I felt like I had to spend a certain amount of time there to make it worthwhile. 
I don't have those kind of constraints at my home studio. I can go down everyday and spend 5 minutes of 4 hours working. I can work, then pop up to write a blog post and pop back down. The lighting and storage are not nearly as good but everything else works really well.  

I had always loved my home studio.  It always felt like my place.  As romantic as the official studio was, it never felt like home.  It was a good first step, it checked a good number of boxes, but it was my studio. I am so grateful I had it for the time that I did.  I know more clearly what I want when it is time to move out of my little home studio. I also know that, whether or not I pay rent for a spacious white walled studio, I am an Artist.

I went to Art Basel in Miami for the first time a few years ago and, in a word, it was overwhelming. There is so many amazing works in the various exhibitions I couldn't imagine buying anything.  I fell in love with one work only to turn around and see something else that was equally stunning.  I went to 4 different exhibitions in Miami that year and although I can remember individual works, I have no memory of the artists or galleries.

People often rush through larger exhibitions trying to see everything, but I found that slowing down allowed my intuition to kick in and I found pieces that made me gasp more often.  I also began to notice that I was really drawn to works by artists from Korea, regardless of where the galleries.  This realization helped me look for patterns in the style of work that I was drawn to.

People often go to these kinds of exhibitions to be inspired and then try to find something in a similar style for their own spaces.  Quite often artists send larger more expensive works to these exhibitions but offer a range of works. When you find art and artists that you really connect with, it is so much more fulfilling to own one of their works.

I hope this will inspire you to take the next exhibition you go to more slowly.
​Margaret

When I started painting, I had been on Instagram for over a year so I was comfortable with sharing part of myself online. I got very comfortable very quickly sharing the Women of Strength series.  Somehow the abstracts were another story.

The first time I showed them in public was at West Elm for a pop-up shop and I was floored by the reaction.  I remember being overcome with emotion a few days after the show. I just couldn't believe that so many people liked the work.  My abstracts always felt like an emotional release. They quite often surprise me, their subjects, the conversations that bring up, the thoughts that surface. I feel like they come from somewhere deep inside me.  To have others connect with that work is often startling.  When I am expressing these ideas and emotions, quite often before I am ready to say them out loud, I never expected that anyone would understand them or connect with them.
But I have come to realized that you don't have to understand exactly what I am putting into the artwork to get something out of it. In fact it is more important that you see something of your own.

And yet, as I play or explore in a new direction, I go back to that place of uncertainty. Am I ready to share this? Is it worth sharing? Is it even good? I worry about whether it is saying anything important or if it is just paint without personality.

I am sure that lots of artists go through this and when I did the last 100 day project, I realized that every part of the process has value and that it isn't up to me to decide if a work is good or not {to paraphrase Warhol}. 

I have to remind myself that being uncomfortable is ok, it is part of the process and that I make art to share.