Some of my last art pieces for 2019, doves, lace and butterflies

"Three Doves Flying Above the Lace"

original painting, © 2019

click here for archival prints and various products

I always think about doves, especially this time of year. Plus I seem to be going in a direction of painting white lace-like plants. 

I like the purity of it all.

I usually "just paint" what inspires me at the moment. And then look up the symbolism afterward.

I often paint night skies, and I'm not sure why. Maybe I'll figure that out when I stop, and start painting blue skies with a few clouds here and there. 

The symbolism for this piece is as follows:

* dove: messenger for a cause, sacrifice, peace, the spirit
* white lace: beginnings, purity, innocence, also beautifying and preparing for something uplifting in your life.
* stars: inspiration, intuition, dreams

Then I painted this one too (as I can't get butterflies off the brain):

"Two Butterflies Above the Lace"

original painting © 2019

click here if you are interested in archival prints or products of this image

The symbolism for this one is as follows:

symbolism:
(note on the butterflies: they are white and orange in this piece, so both may apply):
* white butterflies: souls of the deceased, guidance, transformation, powerful change, finding ones own free spirit, taking a leap of faith
* orange butterflies: a new dawn of healing, end of depression, courtesy and friendliness, staying positive, end of hard times, profound changes from the vantage point of going from the negative to the positive
* white lace bouquet: purity, innocence, ever-changing beginnings and endings, the feminine, beautifying, virginal
* stars: inspiration, intuition, dreams
* night sky: mysteries, unconscious

After I was finished and looked it all up, it does apply to my life. Some really amazing things have been happening in my life (dreams that have come true, surreal events, things coming together, etc - even my husband is surprised, and he's been through everything, it seems ... it has also been wonderful to take this journey with him and watch his reactions - you have to have a partner to dance with). 2019 seemed like the year of "the new dawn" and "new beginnings". 

I'll continue to post when I can. Sometimes living ones life is more all-consuming than reporting on it. I have truly been blessed in a lot of ways.

My portfolio has grown (not in leaps and bounds because a lot of other things have taken precedence), but it is available for viewing HERE - the best way to see what is up to date in terms of my art. At some point I'll put up an Instagram (when I have the time! Ha!).  

Starting a New Life, Surviving, Modeling, Presentation, Art

portrait of me by Lisa Simmons of

Ellesimm.myportfolio.com

with my artwork in the background

CLICK HERE FOR MY FULL BLOG POST ON THE PHOTO SHOOT

the full piece I made for the background is here
(you can tell it was altered by Lisa to the cool turquoise color above):

versions of this are for sale by clicking this link (scroll down please)

For anyone who is a survivor, whether that be a survivor of cancer, or abuse, or an accident, part of lifting yourself up out of your tragedy is through big changes after giving a lot of thought to what happened to you, and letting different perspectives into your thought patterns.

Part of transitioning into being a survivor instead of a victim of tragedy is also through transformation.

The latest transition for me (after changing my environment, then my social circle, then my art, then gaining some perspective, then writing a new blog about the perspectives) was my appearance. 

Before my father died, I dressed down an awful lot. When I was a clay artist, it served a purpose in terms of an ability to get clothes dirty from clay, dust, glazes and chemical materials. As a painter, old men's shirts became the apron where I could get paint splattered on them. Men's clothes were also used as a uniform in a series of weird social situations, as a way to be accepted. Hard to explain.

And right after my father died in 2013, I lived in his shirts while my own clothes became more and more ill-fitting. It went on for years: my basic attire was his shirts (yes, over-sized men's shirts), long hair, jeans, a fanny pack for a pocketbook, and sometimes a poncho (indoors) if it was cold. Everything was figure-hiding, instead of figure-enhancing.

Eventually a long discussion with my friend, Cindy Weed of Jewelwood of Vermont, got me to think about the presentation I was making to the art world, and to "the girl withn". I was depressed, and felt overwhelmed by the prospect of changing my wardrobe, so she took on being my fashion expert. She went out and purchased clothes that she felt were flattering on me for everyday wear, and included some dressy things once in awhile too. I still wear them more days than not.

But I also started thinking about going to work and to art openings in the art world with some nicer clothes, clothes that might fit my style of art, clothes that were a bit more about fantasy, and the Renaissance, and the Celtic. These were art styles I was inspired by, as well as the Lothlorien wear seen in Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings. I was already tall like a Lothlorien, had been compared to Cate Blanchette many times (who plays Galadriel), and felt it was time to move on from wearing men's clothes, and my father's shirts every day (although I do wear his shirts around the house in the evenings quite a bit).

After years, I started purchasing wearables myself, first from Peggy Gray of 22 Shades of Gray, who is a local fashion designer, entrepreneur, and friend, and will make clothes for me which are customized, and then eventually from Holy Clothing (especially sale items - they do have tremendous sales at times where an amazing quality gown will go up for sale for sixty dollars, and the clothes are in the fantasy realm that I like).

I began modeling for Holy Clothing when they offered a percentage off of purchases for modeling, and I have been featured on their facebook and their website. They like models who pose outdoors. I am "the older model" (most are young, and more interested in the costume line - I tend to go for things I can wear to art openings, and not just to Renaissance Faires, Pagan Festivals, Beltane and the like, although I have purchased some of those items too).

So I will be putting some links in the side bar to some of those projects, and some of the clothes I have designed, as well as the modeling session with Lisa Simmons.

And since I write for a fantasy art blog, and a couple of others, I will be including those latest posts in the side bar too.

This is a start ...

More to come ... 

original aceos of bunnies and butterflies, many with millefleurs

These are just a smattering of some original ACEOs I have been making (ACEOs are ultra-mini works of art that are 2.5 inches x 3.5 inches - some may be prints and some may be original paintings; mine are originals). 

These are mostly on sale in galleries in my area (and I have been told that some have sold). I may have some on-line soon too. You can always check my shop. 

These particular ones are matted in a 5" x 7" ivory colored mat with the proper ACEO opening. The backs are all signed with name of piece, medium, date and signature, and they all come with a certificate of authenticity. 

ACEOs are very popular, a great way to own an affordable piece of art at a low price (I charge between $15 - $45 usually, especially matted) and if the artist gets famous, they are worth quite a bit more than your original investment.

I hope to have some other pieces to show you soon, more in the home decor line, but some are original paintings too. 

I have been told that I should be on Instagram (oh, no, not another social media to post to; I already have too many!). I like blogging, Twitter, Google Plus (when it existed), and to a lesser degree the public Facebook (well maybe not so much these days), and I thought that was enough. What's next? Does everyone really spend that much time on all of these platforms, or do they have a favorite? And most of you work! Do you have to stay up all night to cruise it all and go to work groggy?

As I say, I'll be back soon.

ONLINE SHOPS (all my own art work):

SHOP I: prints, greeting cards, tote bags, duvets, pillows and more

SHOP II: original works of art, painted boxes, prints, greeting cards, and more

The Lady Vanity Takes A Break From Mirroring To Dream Of An Unusual Garden, from my millefleurs series

title: "The Lady Vanity Takes A Break From Mirroring To Dream Of An Unusual Garden"

original 11" x 14" painting (presently available)

this piece is also available in prints, totes, pillows, duvets, wall hangings, 

and other products by clicking on this link 

© 2019 Lise Winne

I have a lot of catching up to do! I have been painting and uploading a lot of art recently, and this is just one of them. More to come!

This piece is in the millefleurs tradition (and is part of my millefleurs series HERE). Millefleurs is a French word and means "many flowers". Alternatively it can mean a million flowers, but most art cannot hope to have that number of flowers all in one piece! 

Millefleurs works of art became popular during the Renaissance. The most well known are The Lady and the Unicorn series and The Hunt of the Unicorn series.  

Renaissance art is imbued with a lot of symbolism. 

The fact that The Lady Vanity is small relative to the songbirds near her head and the foliage, is intentional, for instance. It is meant to be an allegory of vanity. 

In the usual style of Renaissance art, she is dressed in Renaissance attire, with a cone hat (hennin).

The white bird is a Sapientes Pacis bird, and translates from Latin into Wise Peace bird. They are a species of my own invention, started during this painting from my blue period series. When I draw from my own imagination, such as when I'm gallery sitting and have no materials to reference for a drawing, these kinds of birds keep popping up. I had to decide what they were, and when looking at them, I decided that they had to be related to peace (as they are a bit dove-like, only bigger), and since they were always examining or questioning something in my art creations, I felt they had to be wise too.

Please note: Sapientes is a different word from Serpientes (tongue-in-cheek reference directed at a person who uses allegories and metaphors to hurt others, rather than to help humanity).

Millefleurs represent plenty, freedom from poverty and hunger, and luxury. For me, painting in this style is a backlash and a rebellion against modernist traditions, particularly depicting landscapes, for example, in bright orange and purple, simply rendered broad brush-stroke paintings with boxy buildings and with very little detail or the natural world in them. Why is this the acceptable norm for getting into shows?

If I'm going to bother spending my time making art, I want to either make art with statements and meaning, or art that is lush and full of nature. This piece hopefully has a little of both. 

One reason I like working in the millefleurs tradition is that it affords me "authentic expression". It was the first style of art that brought tears to my eyes (during my first trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art). After that, I wanted to stop pandering to modernist tastes and to try to give something to the world that might last past the present painting traditions.

William Morris who I highly respect (and see quite a bit of in myself), went "the millefleurs way" too in the 1800s, long after the Renaissance. If he can do it, so can I, yes?

It won't get me in the trendiest places, but customers like it, and they help me going in this direction.

If you find you cannot live without this piece (lol), you can contact me by e-mail (sales(att)LiseWinne.com). It has a gold frame. Or you can purchase an archival print, wall hangings, totes, pillows, etc, HERE.

Here are pictures and products (for possibilities). This first is a framed print:

 the framed prints are available here:

go HERE for a framed print

This frame is under the brown category (found in the drop-down). It is #CUL7

and the mat is manor white ... or pick your own frame.
For the depiction on this blog, the print is roughly a 16" x 20" print.

note: the watermark in the right hand corner will not appear in the actual purchased product

This is what it looks like as a canvas print: 

canvas prints available HERE

choose the size. 

Note the size here on this blog is the smallest.

Don't forget to look at it in 3-D to see if you like how everything lines up on the edges.

Other products:

throw pillows HERE

use this color green or another that suits your fancy

large round beach towel: purchase HERE

As a tote bag. Purchase HERE

Thank you, as always, for reading.

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