Exploring A Cast of Characters in my new  Cabaret Paintings.  They are a cast of characters in the night, my imagined secret life, that ignites my imagination and smears across my canvas with secrets, dark colors and fanciful stories.

Imagination, a most important element

It has occurred to me that I am drawn towards work by artist that have explored the dark side.  I don’t mean the serious Jack the Ripper kind, but, you know,  that nightclub or cabaret with a cast of characters that you can’t take your eyes off of kind.  I love to create stories about their lives that I am peering into, slipping into the night kind of stories.  Secrets, and just slightly past ordinary, into the smoke filled rooms of strangers that share these secrets along with me…never becoming fast friends in our real worlds, just secret friends that pass in the night.  It gives me the freedom to explore these shadows without reservation.

How I begin my Cabaret Paintings

I often begin with a single cabaret figure and build my story around it.The story grows and wanes as the colors and composition swirl through my head and out onto the canvas.  I am beginning to meld the new abstract paintings from my”Juxtapositions of Life” Collection with the cast of figures that I am exploring.  It is a dazzling dance of mind, spirit and shadow.  I love sharing my thoughts and my work with you, hoping to inspire you to search your own shadow.

Imagine these works hanging on your walls in your home, making up your own stories about the shadow world.  You may not allow yourself to share your personal shadow world, but what a wonderful way to start conversations when your friends come to visit.  Storytelling paintings are different for everyone.  Each person brings their own life history to the work and has their own relationship with the painting.    Loving this new exploration myself for sure.  If you are interested in taking the journey into this secret cabaret life and want to have a commission created or check out  any of the cabaret paintings click HERE