Today is full of possiblities

Title: Today is full of possibilities

Size: 48 x 24"

Medium: Acrylic, modelling paste, conte,  pastel,

Salvaged object: squished silver cap

Paintings with a Purpose: A collection of paintings that aim to bring awareness and gratitude.

The inspiration for this collection was for my desire to give back and to remind myself to be grateful.

Knowing that many people across the world live in extreme poverty while I am fortunate enough to live in beautiful, prosperous Canada has constantly made me think of how I can make use of my own God-given talent and abilities to enrich and serve the lives of others.

For years I grappled with how I could help, until recently when my family and I planned a trip near a Mexican landfill community called Gardenia. It was there that I got to meet the native people (Nancy, Alisha and their families) who make their livelihood from scrummaging through a landfill in hopes to find objects they can exchange for monetary value. These beautiful, generous people offered me their collected salvaged objects that had no monetary value, so that I could bring them back home and use them in my artwork.

These salvaged objects were the technical inspiration throughout this collection; however, the awakening of gratitude born from these objects is my overall desire.

My aim for each piece was to create a stand-alone, captivating and beautiful painting that I precisely composed with different markings, mediums, colors, and rhythmic details to complement each salvaged object.

No two paintings look similar because each salvaged object is different. This made for a fun, yet challenging process for me - the artist, as I was always needing to reinvent my process and application of the different mediums. Some salvaged pieces were sharp and angular which led to bolder sharp marks, while others were soft and organic in shape, which led to a more flowing and softer paint application.

My hope is that the viewer may engage in each piece as they search amidst the colors, details and brush strokes, and then reflect on the salvaged object as a contrast to the blessings they have across the world.

I want the viewer to leave feeling grateful and inspired to see their life more positively and maybe even be moved to help others.

                                                                                                                                                                   Julie Witten-Land