Marbled Snippets, by Kim Blair

(close-up section of a larger work on 300 lb watercolour paper)

How many of you played with marbles as a kid?

Another term for those round glass balls with bits of  coloured glass trapped within is 'alleys'.  Multicoloured orbs of glass, usually carried in a little draw-string bag... each marble treasured but often traded.  The tactile pleasure of reaching into the bag to scoop up the contents, hearing them clink together as they cascaded through your fingers...worry beads for kids.

Soothing, yet exciting at the same time.

Abstract Snippet Thoughts, by Kim Blair

(close-up snippet of larger work on 300 lb watercolour paper)

Some of these close-up photos of sections from my larger works have given me a knew perspective, making me think that I should consider creating larger abstracts works inspired by these smaller snippets.

Part of me wishes I could just wave my magic (brush) wand and the works would magically appear because as all artists know, if you tried to recreate a painting just like this snippet it would look forced and contrived.  The snippet can only be a jumping off point for something else to emerge...a totally new creation inspired by the original.

Purple Haze Snippet, by Kim Blair

(close-up section of a larger work on 300 lb watercolour paper)

The sections where colours meet, overlap and mingle are rich with mystery... is that yellow over or under the adjacent hue... is that scratchy purple line continuing under the black section...what do those shapes represent?
Any ideas?

Snippet Texture, by Kim Blair

(close-up section of a larger work on 300 lb watercolour paper)

Texture can be a visual treat besides a tactile pleasure.  We can appreciate the look of the undulations of the paint rippling across the canvas or paper, but if we are given permission to delicately touch the surface in order to enjoy the folds and marks in the thick paint we satisfy a very basic need... the pleasure of touch.
  
I often day dream about running my hand across a Van Gogh painting... the mere thought sends shivers down my spine.

Snippet Geography, by Kim Blair


(close-up section of a larger work on 300 lb watercolour paper)

A few blue lines meandering across a small snippet photographed from a much larger painting plays with our sense of perspective... aerial topography or ?

A Universe in a Snippet, by Kim Blair

(close-up snippet of larger work on 300 lb watercolour paper)

Even though I, as the artist, know what the subject/inspiration was for the painting that this snippet came from I can't help thinking that this tiny little section suggests something much larger.

Snippet with Blue Lines, by Kim Blair

(close-up snippet of larger work on 300 lb watercolour paper)

A small snippet of a larger work can have a life of its own... it may suggest an image of something entirely different from the painting as a whole.  This snippet evokes a feeling of spring for me... what does it evoke for you?

Snippets of gray, by Kim Blair

(close-up snippet of larger work on 300 lb watercolour paper)

Making marks on thick textured watercolour paper is a sensual experience.  The paint skips and dances across the embossed surface of the absorbent paper leaving a trail of colour... blue, black, brown and white mingling together to create more than 50 shades of gray.


Snippets can be miniature works of art, by Kim Blair


(close-up snippet of larger work on 300 lb watercolour paper)

While composing these close-up sectional shots of my larger mixed media paintings I discovered numerous miniature abstracted works... some could stand alone as tiny paintings, while others offer only a glimpse into a much more complicated composition.