New Work Post the Cape Collection

 Autumn's Approach - Acrylic on 16" x 20" canvas - SOLD

Tangled Up in Blue - Acrylic on 16" x 20" canvas - SOLD

Saying goodbye to summer isn't ever easy for me but alas, time moves on and so must I. These two paintings were a couple of new works post my Cape Cod series that sold to a local collector. She happens to be super awesome and I love her enthusiasm about art and artists. Honestly, it's needle in the haystack people like her that keep me painting. (THANK YOU! You know who you are!) 

Shades of Love - Acrylic and oil pastel on 24" x 30" canvas 

Tropical Dreams - Acrylic on 16" x 20" canvas

I have been loving the delicate brushwork of circles, white in particular, and even bought a new brush to fully accommodate this look. That brush is the star of all of these paintings. I have since changed ever so much in what I want to create and so this particular brush, and its marks, may not be seen again for a little bit. Or not. You never know!

The Cape Cod Collection

Tide Pool Reflections 1 - Acrylic and oil pastel on 24" x 24" canvas, 2014

There is something that happens to you when you spend even just a couple of days by the ocean. That magic something happened to me this past June when my husband and I went on an anniversary trip to the Cape (where we married and honeymooned 8 years ago). 

Tide Pool Reflections 2 - Acrylic and oil pastel on 12" x 12" canvas

During this wonderful trip (now 3 months ago) I experienced a sense of peace that I really can't say I've ever experienced before. With some reflection, I now understand why. 

1. We camped. 

The media/entertainment/news-feed of our modern society can become not only addicting and something to obsess about, but also alter who we really are. It was so great to get away from technology - the television, the internet, our online businesses and who left a review for one of Rob's books on Amazon and who favorited one of my Etsy listings. Being in nature and connecting with nature's rhythm was so very good for the soul. #mediablackout

2. We were on the freaking Cape. 

Not only does it hold a bounty of good memories and heart strung connections for us personally, the flexed arm of New England is everything that a laid back traveler could want. There's room for every kind of New Englander to get their taste of the Atlantic - from the super wealthy (hello Kennedys?) to your average Joe and Josephine getting clam strips from a roadside stand. Life is good on the Cape. Whoever you are you can make it work... and thensome. #tartarsauce

3. The beach has magical powers. 

This is where I feel for my landlocked friends. If you've never been to "the beach", than you really do not know what you are missing. The ocean is the best anti-whatever-ails-you antidote that I've ever experienced naturally. People come to the shore to veg and let it all hang out. You could say that in the outer Cape, that is more true than other many other oceanside locations internationally. (he he - #nudists!) 

Tide Pool Reflections 3 - Acrylic 12" x 12" canvas, SOLD

If you've been paying attention, I've shared 3 paintings titled the same. Tide Pool Reflections 1-3. 

It was our last day on the Cape and we were at a bay side beach. The tide went out for as far as the eye could see, but in between here and there were many tide-pools - from knee deep to just barely covering the top of your feet. As any normal person connected to their inner child would do, I skipped my feet in the water, watching the beautiful patterns of swirls and circles of light dancing on the surface of the water before me.

And that was the beginning of a series. 

Serenity by the Sea - Acrylic and oil pastel on 18" x 24" canvas, SOLD

This series was yes, about the reflections of light on water, and New England earthy sand vs the salty sea BUT it was also about transcending petty problems and just living in the moment. It gave me the idea that hey maybe I could feel this way - this zenned out, happy and fullfilled way, any time I wanted. And wasn't that radical. 

Song of the Sea - Acrylic and oil pastel on 24" x 36" canvas

Check out all of the mellowed out, ocean inspired, Cape Cod Collection here: https://www.etsy.com/shop/JessicaTorrant?section_id=15658933

Society6 - New Prints and Products

Today I set up a new shop on Society6.com.  I'm limiting the collection to my latest series and you can buy prints, stretched canvases, throw pillows, greeting cards, iPhone cases, laptop skins and more!

Visit my shop via the link below to receive free shipping through May 12th!

http://society6.com/JessicaTorrant?promo=05a269

Between Two Worlds

©2013 Jessica Torrant
BETWEEN TWO WORLDS
Acrylic and oil pastel on canvas, 16 x 20 inches

CLICK HERE for purchasing information - $350

New Work

 ©2013 Jessica Torrant
TRANSCENDENCE
Acrylic on canvas, 22 x 28 inches

©2013 Jessica Torrant
SPRING'S DELIGHT
Acrylic on canvas, 12 x 16 inches

Heart Beats

Heart Beats - Acrylic on 16" x 20" canvas, 2011

Reckless Abandon

Reckless Abandon - Acrylic on 16" x 20" gallery wrapped canvas, 2011

This title pretty much sums up how I've been approaching painting the last few months. To push myself to be more free and expressive with marks, and let color dance all over the surface of the canvas. I'm still painting inside my house, which is limiting, and I often look longingly out at my studio out in the cold anxious for spring to arrive. But it is coming! The days are getting longer, the sunlight feels a little stronger and just a couple of "warm-ish" days is all it takes to start thinking about those first spring buds to blossom and bits of green popping up here and there.

Torch Song

Torch Song - Acrylic on 16" x 20" canvas

This painting was inspired by listening to an unknown (to me) jazz singer's torch song on the radio and wanting to give her vocal pain a visual voice. I may not be in "torch song status" in my life right now, but I can certainly draw from other times in my life when I was.  

What is a torch song? Wikipedia says "A torch song is a sentimental love song, typically one in which the singer laments an unrequited or lost love, either where one party is oblivious to the existence of the other, where one party has moved on, or where a romantic affair has affected the relationship." 

I was raised to a soundtrack of jazz, so there are a ton of ballads/standards/torch songs that move me but there are modern torch songs such as Adele's Someone Like You that take this genre from the past to the present, and I love that. For me, Liz Phair, Jeff Buckley, and Fionna Apple have been the ones in my generation to continue the light the flame, but I'm sure there are more modern performers I'm just not aware of that carry the torch today.  

If I were to name just one singer to define the ultimate torch song singer, it would be hands down Billie Holiday but of course there is Ella and Sarah and and and... Do you have a favorite torch song or singer? What is it or who are they, and if I might pry even further, why?

Good News from Good News

Pure Intentions - Acrylic on 12" x 24" canvas, 2011

My exhibit at the Good News Cafe is officially over today and my paintings are back home again - minus three! I had not heard anything since opening day and assumed that best case scenario, I met some new great people and artists, exposed my work to a new audience, and challenged myself to create a cohesive collection. A sale - let alone three - was a delightful surprise to say the least! If you are curious to know what pieces sold, they were Alive Again, Afterglow and Jazz.

Now that I've got my babies back home, I'll be listing them on my new website www.jessicatorrant.com. The first to be added is this long abstract, Pure Intentions. 

I'd like to once again thank the whole crew at Good News Cafe for providing artists with the space and opportunity to showcase their artwork. It was such a great experience and one that I was proud to share with my family and friends!

First paintings of 2012

 Midnight - Acrylic on 8" x 10" canvas panel, 2012

 Painter's Play - Acrylic on 8" x 10" canvas panel, 2012

 Reverb - Acrylic on 8" x 10" canvas panel, 2012

Softly Spoken - Acrylic on 8" x 10" canvas panel, 2012

Fresh Impressions Preview: After Noon

After Noon - Acrylic on 24" x 36" canvas, 2011

I think this is my favorite of the new series. It is a now-not-so-secret nod to Lee Krasner's painting Noon that has firmly planted itself in my mental slideshow of paintings that have rocked my world for life. I think that Noon was the original subconscious inspiration to create this series, now that I have had the opportunity to take a step back and take it all in. Monet's water lilies were also part of that mental slideshow - the abstract moments of color and mark are spectacular when you see the giant canvases in person (which I was fortunate to do years ago at the MoMA). Of course, at the end of the day, these paintings are mine. Sometime late last year I got into circles. The circles began to deconstruct. The marks became looser. Everything became more freeing. The process is what has driven this new series but that's me talking as the artist. In time, I think I will see these paintings more clearly from the perspective of the observer and I will then understand them more completely.

This painting is one of twenty that will be exhibited at the Good News Cafe through January 31. See previous post for more information.

Fresh Impressions - Paintings by Jessica Torrant at the Good News Cafe

Alive Again, Acrylic on canvas, 18" x 24"

FRESH IMPRESSIONS by Jessica Torrant

In her latest collection of paintings, Fresh Impressions, Jessica Torrant explores an abstract direction inspired by Impressionist techniques, brush strokes, and color chemistry. Rather than conveying an impression of a landscape or still life, Jessica is exploring a more internal landscape of emotion and states of being. Her intention is to create works of art that resonate various energies and lead the eye into deeper dimensions. Jessica hopes viewers will respond to each piece uniquely, engaging in a quiet, personal conversation through visual meditation. 

Please join me at the Good News Cafe for the opening reception of my latest exhibit, Sunday, December 4th from 3-5 pm. There will be refreshments and I will be there, as well as the other exhibiting artist Marlow Shami, to meet and chat with visitors. If you can't make it Sunday, the exhibit will be hanging through January 31, 2012 so be sure to treat yourself to an exquisite meal by one of Connecticut's most esteemed chefs, surrounded by original art! 

"Carole Peck's Good News Cafe is a 170-seat full-service restaurant, winning top awards year after year from Zagat's Guide, Connecticut Magazine and The New York Times, to name a few. Zagat called Carole Peck's Good News Cafe one of the, "Top Restaurants in the U.S." 

New Paintings

It has been beautiful here and I've had the pleasure of doing a lot of painting the last couple of weeks in the screened in area of my studio. Whenever it gets to be August I get this anxious energy of "oh no! Summer is running out!" as if there's anything you can really do about the passage of time. It's been a great summer, and there will be plenty more fun times to come, I just wish it would streeeetttcchhh...

These are a couple of little texture paintings I'm working on. There are a handful more in the studio ready to go.

Pieces 1 - Acrylic on 6" x 6" box canvas

Pieces 2 - Acrylic on 6" x 6" box canvas

Midsummer Glow - Acrylic on 6" x 6" box canvas

Come to Life - Acrylic on 6" x 6" box canvas

I also have been working on two 22" x 28" canvases, and one is a work in progress that I don't have a picture of yet, and I finally finished this one yesterday.

Interwoven - Acrylic on 22" x 28" canvas

I don't know which way I like this hanging - they both work for me. What do you think?

Minimalist texture landscapes

Horizon 9

Blue Sky, Golden Meadow

Both of these textured abstract landscapes were almost finished for months and months. For some reason, I felt the urge yesterday to give them that final push to "finished". I've got another painting that was waiting to be finished that came to completion today but the pictures came out sub par. Hopefully tomorrow I should have some good shots of it. Hope everyone had a happy and safe holiday weekend!

Painting as Meditation

The View That Day

Letters to Heaven

The Change

Essence of Being

New works on paper.

Bubbling Over

Bubbling Over - Acrylic on 24" x 24" box canvas

I am actually quite literally bubbling over with joy anticipating getting together with two wonderful girlfriends tomorrow for a birthday get together and gab fest! Painting will be put on hold for the festivities which will no doubt include going out to eat, consuming copious amounts of wine, and sharing all of our stories from San Diego, Boston and small town Ellington (clearly, they'll have a lot more to share than me in cow-town USA - "So my friend at the post office made the most beautiful silk flower arrangements for his friend's wedding! He showed me on his phone!" "Oh and the most adorable cardinal has been watching over a nest in that bush, isn't that great!?" true story). Anyway, even though it seems like I've already partaken in said wine, I'm actually just drunk on pure excitement. It's been much too long since I've seen these gals and I'm going to will the clocks to slow down so I can savor every moment!

Documenting "Layers of Life"

Layers of Life - Acrylic on 16" x 20" gallery wrapped canvas

Here are some shots of this painting as it evolved...

I began working on this painting this weekend and found that I was getting too tight and too literal with my "circle" theme.

Today I went in with bright colors to open up the space and get a lot more action happening.

I was really feeling the turquoise/orange/yellow combo...

And then I started to get into the feeling of lots and lots of layers in various levels of translucency...

The finished product has this wild, frenzied action all over the surface with a gradual lightening as it works towards the top. I am feeling inspired by Lee Krasner's Noon - a piece that has moved me for years - as well as the abstract qualities of the great impressionists. I still have farther to push this series but I'm really liking where I'm headed right now.

As Deep as the Ocean...

As Deep as the Ocean, as High as the Sky

This new painting is not for sale as it is a wedding gift for my friends Nicole and Matt that got married late last year. I was lucky enough to be there for the wedding and in fact in the wedding as a bride's maid - a position that made me extremely uncomfortable given that I'm entirely too emotional at weddings, let alone the wedding of a friend I've known for 20+ years (yikes!). We all had such a blast celebrating the big day and when it came for the wedding itself, well, I was a mess. It was as if my emotions being so restrained acted out in random ways - I swear I was about to lose it either sobbing or giggling like a maniac. Poor Nicole, what was she thinking? But, I kept it together enough to not hog the spot light making every guest question, "WHAT is UP with that girl?" and the after party was one to go down in history.

This painting not only represents their deep love for one another, but it also is inspired by the ocean - something that plays a major role in their Floridian lives. Matt is a boat man and a master fisherman and Nicole is now his first mate. :)

Alive Again

Alive Again - Acrylic on 18" x 24" gallery wrapped canvas

As I look around at the bursts of green popping out everywhere, there's no question that spring is fully marching ahead and I can't help but feel like I feel alive again. Connecting to the earth, the flora and fauna - the energy feels like everything surrounding me is exuding a feeling of joy and a celebration of life. Happy spring everyone and have a great weekend!

It's getting closer...

Positivity - Acrylic on 30" x 30" canvas, 2011 SOLD

Wild Garden - Acrylic on 20" x 20" canvas, 2011
CLICK HERE FOR PURCHASING INFORMATION

Unbelievably, the snow that came up to my mid thigh (and I'm a tall gal) has melted almost all the way. I didn't think I'd see the ground till May with the winter we've had, but alas spring is coming on strong and I couldn't be happier about it! I've even seen some shoots of hyacinth and iris peeking out, and the chrysanthemum has buds. In no time it will be warm enough to get out in the studio for spring cleaning and preparation. Spring has always been my most productive time of year to paint, so you could say I'm just a little excited about it. ;)

Above are two paintings I made along with the ones in the last post. Positivity was sold to a collector in Australia within a week of listing it on Etsy (which was shockingly awesome, to say the least), and Wild Garden, well, I just love that painting and kind of wish I could keep it for myself. These were the last batch of paintings I made in the basement. Now that the sun is shining brighter and the signs of spring are appearing, I'm feeling done with that dark and now totally uninspiring space, and can wait the couple of weeks to be able to work in the studio again.

In the meantime, I've been working in my sunlit kitchen making multiple original prints. I have experimented with screen printing with cut paper masters before, but this was my first hand carved print. Each piece was printed with acrylic paint and once dried, I applied large, wet strokes of watercolor paint. Some dried and ended up being just right as they were, others called out for a little more work.

Cupid Missed 5 - Mixed media original print on 6" x 9" paper, 2011

This is one that I liked as is. The others below got a little extra attention.

Cupid Missed 3 - Mixed media original print on 6" x 9" paper, 2011

Cupid Missed 2 - Mixed media original print on 6" x 9" paper, 2011

Cupid Missed 1 - Mixed media print on 6" x 9" paper, 2011

What are you creating these days? Feel free to share your latest artistic endeavors in the comments section.