NEW series

I'm very excited about this new series, I am not going to say too much now but here are some pictures so far....

Adoption Photo

Came across this photo of me finishing 'Adoption', a painting that celebrates physical & spiritual adoption. I have a canvas print of this painting on my wall at the mo (much smaller than the original) & I find the regular reminder of awesome love everytime I pass it really inspiring & uplifting.

'Adoption'Progress Pictures

Here are some progress pictures of 'Adoption' (100cm x 150cm paint on canvas).  I don't usually change colours whilst painting but the blue wasn't quite working for me.  The painting is a celebration of adoption (physical and spiritual) and I think the warm, ethereal yellow was the right choice in the end.

You can view a higher resolution of the final painting here  

and the same painting plus other artwork on my website 

Progress Pictures of 'Mothers'

For those of you that like progress pictures...

View on Saatchi Art

NEW exhibition

Thrilled to find out two of my paintings have been selected by the CARISCC competition for a touring exhibition which will be in London, Birmingham, Glasgow and Leeds. Here are the two selected portraits: 'Koko' and 'Lineage'.

Here is my new painting: ‘Mothers’, a self portrait (60 cm x 76 cm paint on canvas with photographs). 

I love the genre of self portraiture and the freedom of expression it brings. I painted the self portrait ‘Mothers’ because I wanted to explore the concept of heritage (physical, cultural, emotional, spiritual) and womanhood.  I have Native American heritage and am connected to Kenyan culture hence the hair style, choker style necklace and wrapped material. The necklace depicts my female family tree, showing the eyes of my mother, mother-in-law, grandmothers, great grandmothers…etc.  I focused on the females in my family tree because of the emphasis on womanhood and the influence mothers have. The pose is unusual; I chose to look at the viewer as if I were looking down to give the impression of strength and power.  I wanted to convey that my heritage and the women/mothers that are part of that heritage, empower me.

You can view this painting on Saatchi Art: http://bit.ly/2q23R5i

Fine Art Heroes

I am inspired by many artists but these very influential artists are my all time favourites and have played a big role in shaping my work:

FRIDA KAHLO - 1907-1954 (Mexico)

GUSTAV KLIMT - 1862-1918 (Austria)

AMEDIO MODIGLIANI - 1884-1920 (Italy / France)

Painting Identitical Twins

I have nearly finished a portrait of an identical twin, I am painting her twin sister soon.  Painting identical twins is fascinating as the differences in facial features are so minute. As a portrait painter you have to be spot on with accuracy but the precision is so important when painting identical twins, I have to confess that at one point in the early stages the portrait looked more like the other twin! All the facial features are honed and correct now (the portrait definitely looks like the correct person), I just need to finish off the clothing.  Here are some progress pictures, I'll post more photos once completed.    

January Work

Happy new year! Over Christmas I have been experimenting with watercolour which has been fun.  I am currently working on some pencil and paint portraits for an exhibition in the spring.

NEW Painting: My Brothers

This is a new painting of mine, I think it has to be one of my favourites. It makes me smile and also tearful when I look at it.  It depicts my brother and his tattoo of our deceased brother's name, hence the title 'My Brothers'.

My Brothers paint on canvas 80cm x 60cm

View a larger version and print options at Saatchi Art.

View on my website: www.bethlouella.com 

Below the Surface Woman Blue

Here is another portrait from the 'Below the Surface' body of work.  I went to the Stanley Spencer Gallery recently and admired a sketched portrait of his first wife in hard pencil.  It inspired me to use hard pencil in this body of work. 

Woman Blue  21cm (w) x 42cm (h) pencil, ink and paint on paper

View / buy prints on Saatchi

Lineage

Here is another recent painting. It is a self portrait (not a very flattering one, but then that is not what self portraits are about!).  It is called Lineage, the painting is about heritage, ancestry, what gets passed down to us and what shapes us.  My dreads look like tree branches so I created a 'family tree' / 'tree of life' with the layout of my hair.  The splashes of colour represent different elements being passed down, the things that impact / shape us and the results. The turquoise represents bitter sweet elements and the yellow represents positive elements, such as love, joy and faith. 

Lineage 61cm (w) x 91cm (h) paint on canvas 

View / buy prints on Saatchi

New Portrait - FIT

Fit  36cm (w) x 46cm (h) paint on canvas 

View / buy prints on Saatchi

Here is my documentation of 'Rebecca'...

New Portraits

Here are some new portraits of beautiful sitters...

                                                 Rebecca  36cm (w) x 46cm (h) paint on canvas 

 Rebecca II  46cm (w) x 36cm (h) paint on canvas 

Verity  36cm (w) x 46cm (h) paint on canvas 

New Artwork

I am excited about some new portraits... I was in London sketching and photographing models / sitters with amazing hair at the weekend.  I'm really looking forward to creating the final pieces.  I plan to document my process (something I don't usually do) so look out for some videos!

From Retrospective Sisterhood (Diptych)

Contemporary Art Response to Dramatic Charity Event

I ‘documented’ a hairdresser losing her hair through three large paintings on canvas (The Gift I, II, and III).  

Reading based Hairdresser Mel, had her long, multi-coloured hair shaved off publicly in her Salon to raise awareness of human sex trafficking and to raise money for a charity supporting victims.  The three vibrant paintings depict different stages of the event and the changing atmosphere.  

Fellow hairdressers wept as Mel had the last of her hair removed; her sacrificial ‘gift’ was a touching act to witness.  25% of profits from sales of prints and the paintings are donated to The Mustard Tree Foundation’s Rahab Project.

The Gift I  91cm (w) x 61cm (h) paint on canvas with embellishment  

 The Gift II  61cm (w) x 91cm (h) paint on canvas with embellishment    

The Gift III  61cm (w) x 91cm (h) paint on canvas with embellishment

For more information about these paintings, please go to www.saatchiart.com/bethlouella

Portrait Painting

Portraits are my huge passion! I find a broad range of people inspiring and love the challenge of expressing the unseen.  Here are some of my more recent portraits... (you can view them at www.bethlouella.com and some on Saatchi Art www.saatchiart.com/bethlouella)

Koko 80cm (w) x 60cm (h) paint on canvas 

 Murunga  29cm (w) x 20.5cm (h) paint and ink on paper  

 Peter  46cm (w) x 61cm (h) paint on canvas

Retrospective Sisterhood  (Diptych) 120cm (w) x 80cm (h) paint on canvas with embellishment 

Self Portrait Gold  36cm (w) x 46cm (h) paint on canvas with embellishment

 Self Portrait Red  51cm (w) x 61cm (h) paint on canvas with embellishment

  Spiritual Boadicea I  61cm (w) x 91cm (h) paint on canvas with embellishment