On affordable art and supporting the community

Two things that I’m deeply passionate about are (1) offering affordable original paintings and (2) uplifting my local community .

During my life as a PhD student, there were times that I’d fall in love with an artist’s work and want to purchase an original piece from them. However, that wasn’t always possible given the prices of their available artwork. Instead, I’d only be able to stretch to a print, which I still appreciated, but for me, prints don’t satisfy the same craving as owning an original piece of art.

Today, as I consider my own values as a professional artist, always having affordable originals available under $200 is at the top of my list. Whilst this is balanced with the need to be paid a fair wage for my art, I’m committed to releasing at least one ‘affordable’ collection each year, in addition to uplifting my community through projects & benefits.

Getting involved in projects, events and organisations that uplift my community will forever be a priority – be that through offering my expertise, time, or resources. It’s a way give back to my community and pay the goodness I’ve received forward.

Below, I share some such projects and collections.

Art auction for SF-Marin Food Bank, Feb 23 to 26 2023

I’ve donated two of my ‘Lost in Colour Minis’ to the 2023 auction held by STUDIO Gallery SF. This auction will be raising money for a terrific local cause, the San Francisco-Marin Food Bank.

With a starting price of just $50, these minis are an absolute steal!

‘Lost in Colour Minis’, 2022

As I started working on my ‘Lost in Colour’ collection, I came up with my plan for a collection of minis that mirrored this style. These paintings combine line-drawn architectural details with expressive flowers against bold, abstract backgrounds. Each small painting (6×6″) packs a punch as a standalone piece, or can be combined with others to fill a larger space.

Each piece is $150, and comes ready to hang. Is your favourite mini still available?

The Mission Kiss, a public art project in SF, Sep 2022

The Mission Kiss is a fabulous public art project that I got involved in during Sep 2022. With a group of creatives in the community, I hung up painted hearts along the streets of Mission in San Francisco to create a public art walk. These were hearts painted and decorated by artists and members of the community alike. At a certain point in time, we walked away from our hearts allowing them to be claimed freely by an unknown stranger. Reflecting back on this project, I think about the power of art, of giving freely, and of community.

A to Z Flowers collection, 2022

This collection started as a bit of tongue and cheek. Some of my friends had bought homes during the pandemic and had become avid gardeners. Whilst they became well-versed in all things flora and fauna, I couldn’t name even the most common garden plants. I thought about this floral collection as a fun way for me to learn about different flowers and dive into their meanings, uses and mythologies!

I created 26 paintings on paper of flowers from A to Z. Did I paint your favourite flowers in this collection?

Parting thoughts

As I forge my career as a working artist, I will continue prioritising both (a) creating affordable original artwork and (b) giving back and uplifting my community. In fact on the latter, volunteering my time and skills to support charities & non-profits is something that I do, and will share more about in due course!

Want to learn more about me? Find out all about me, and see what events and projects I have in the diary.