You are invited to
OPEN A S O L O E X H I B IT i ON by
AUDREY PHILLIPS
OPENING NIGHT Saturday, November 5, 2016 | 4-7 PM Show runs through November 26, 2016 Arts on Douglas Fine Art and Collectibles 123 Douglas Street, New Smyrna Beach, FL 32168 Gallery hours: T-F 10-5 and Sat 11-3 386-428-1133
A Lifted Crimson Wing | 48” x 48” | Acrylic Mixed Media | ©Audrey Phillips
My recent life transitions allowed me to look deeply into my life and gave me the opportunity to clear out possessions and thoughts that complicate my world and discover new ways to create a open, vital and creative life. How do I create a life that is as magical, open and calming as my art practice? Can I approach this new body of work the same way I want to approach my life – with more openness, more lightness – creating room for the unexpected?
Obscure Recesses Otherwise Undivined | 48” x 48” | Acrylic Mixed Media | ©Audrey Phillips
With that in mind, the summer studio practice began with the objective of paring down and embracing simplicity. I toggled between controlled restraint and open-ended exploration — a push and pull of two very different principles.
Rushing Forth | 36” x 36” | Acrylic Mixed Media | ©Audrey Phillips
My palette was limited to a few select colors. My tools (brushes, palette knives and mark-making tools) were restricted as well. By employing simplicity and restraint (often considered counter intuitive to the creative brain), time opened up for more focus and intentionality in the process of looking at and creating the work. The exploration led to more complexity and decisions that had to be resolved.
Storms of Conversation Rose | 48” x 48” | Acrylic Mixed Media | ©Audrey Phillips
Private residence, Tampa, FL. Courtesy of Baisden Gallery
I learned that simplicity is not simple. I continue to work on simplifying my life, but in the end, I feel my paintings guided me to the place that provides the most openness and light in my life. As the work came into being, between passages of drawing and painting, I recognized a part of myself that often shows up in my work—the beautiful inspiration of nature, the place where I most often feel open, alive and connected.
A Blend of Discipline and Instinct | 48” x 48” | Acrylic Mixed Media | ©Audrey Phillips
Perhaps the poet Rainer Maria Rilke sums it up best: “If you will stay close to nature, to its simplicity, to the small things hardly noticeable, those things can unexpectedly become great and immeasurable.”
Slipping Outside Time | 48” x 48” | Acrylic Mixed Media | ©Audrey Phillips
A Blue Haze Hangs | 36” x 72” | Acrylic Mixed Media | ©Audrey Phillips
Please join me for an exhibition of my new work at Arts on Douglas in New Smyrna Beach, FL where this work and many more pieces will be on display and available for purchase.
OPENING NIGHT: Saturday, November 5, 2016 | 4-7 PM Show runs through November 26, 2016