Hello, and welcome to Our Newsletter Issue #10!
It is a pleasure to have you here.
We return to our normal broadcasting programme today, with a spotlight on my painting ‘There’s always someone there for you if you let them be (unless you’re a c***). This is a 2021 piece, and arguably one of my favourites. Still part of my Finding Closeness series, but quietly alluding to the direction I am taking for my new work.
There’s always someone there for you if you let them be
(unless you’re a c***), 2021
Oil and biro on canvas
30 x 30 cm
This painting is available to collect, email info@ariettachandris.com to enquire about it
I made this piece for the exhibition Art in the Age of Now (which took place in May-June 2021), after my friend and curator MC Llamas invited me to exhibit. This is probably the fastest I’ve ever painted (about 25 hours of painting condensed into two gruelling days of work, not including the research for the background behind the paint). In the background I scribbled a lot: thoughts, headlines, quotes. It was cathartic; and then I painted. I painted from a photo taken by photographer Hannah La Follette Ryan, who runs the Instagram page Subway Hands (with her permission of course). It was a photo that moved me, and resonated with the overall line of enquiry for my Finding Closeness series. This painting was also the first time I painted ripped jeans, which was daunting before I actually did it and realised it’s a much simpler process than I thought it would be!
The title is, well, a valid point. We’ve all gone through the weirdest couple of years. The main thing I’ve learned is: be kind. You don’t know what internal battles people are fighting. This is an especially important reminder now in advance of World Mental Health Day this Sunday, October 10th. As such, if you or someone you know adds this piece to their collection, I will donate 10% of the sale of this piece to Mind charity.
Below some detail shots of the painting, as it dried my background scribbles have become more visible and I really love that.
See you next week, where I’ll be sharing with you my most recent finished painting for my Finding Closeness series. I haven’t shared it on my website or socials in full yet, so you’ll be the first to catch a glimpse!
I hope you have a wonderful weekend.
Lots of love,
Arietta xx