Exploration of the mind....

Stanley Bay
July 4th 2016
photo by Arana Kennedy

I was drawn to the sky today and this photo I took captures what I couldn't describe in words. There was a magical summery feeling with a hint of storm creeping in from the side... A strong wind was blowing and the sun was out in force. Todays weather could go anyway!

Stormy day?
Stanley 4th July 2016
photo by Arana Kennedy

Leaving my sun filled flat, I was surprised to step out and see dark storm clouds looming over part of the sky. I move closer to see if I can capture the intense greys and greens that my naked eye can see. It's the sharp constrasting colours that draw me towards the water.

Rough sea and dark clouds greet me at the waters edge...

Then I turn to my left and bright sunny blue skies with sharp vivid contrast.

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The Phoenix is rising

Phoenix Rising
watercolour & ink
A3 size
HK$ 5,800
May 2016
Artist Arana Kennedy

The Phoenix is rising

The fire has just begun...
a slow gentle flame 
Ignited by the possibility of freedom and hope
mythological creatures unite in the imagination
as a transformation begins
propelling upwards to the energy all around us

it gets under your skin
it eats at your core
it turns your world inside out
as you melt into a giant bowl of sparkling stars
you see clearly
your mind is free to think and ponder

Deep within the spirit breaks free
Leaving behind a world of tragedy and pain
Repairing the destruction that was here upon arrival
Looking to the past for the keys to unlock the future
Too fast they progress
they don't think but just act

Fear not for the Phoenix is rising
consumed by passion and wonder
driven by natural forces
beauty intensifying drawing light from the sun
enjoying the shadows in the moon
pulsating to the motion of the sea

Breath deep
the heat of the fire and the smoke of the flames
feel the burn and the calls of those in pain
Fix the broken
Help the needy
Stand up for all people and they will stand up for you

Sometimes when I am at a total loss of what to say, I just shut down and relax and just let the words take over. Painting with words I guess I'd like to call it. This fine creature in this artwork is symbolic as it represents and hurdle I have over come in my mind. These 'blockers' show up in the form of anxiety, fear and a general lack of inner self confidence.

Friends and family often tell me I'm brave and I find that really strange because most of the time I am absolutely terrified! But I guess that's just part of the package you would have to be totally insane not to feel some fear before jumping out of a plane. I guess the braver you are just means you have a higher tolerance to fear, maybe!? I guess watching all those horror movies prepared me to face fear in life LMAO... Nah! I going to cope out here and blame my parents for letting me watch Dr Who when I was 5 HAHAHA! I LOVED it! I was terrified watching it, but I still loved it... slept like a 5 year old should... soundly! That however wasn't the case for my poor cousin, he had nightmares.

Where did I pull the word "brave" from, you may ask? I think I was fairly brave trying to capture a phoenix rising out of fire... I love how the colours BOUNCE and the contrast of the black and white slightly merging with bold blends of yellow and red. I can't feel the grace... I know its there but its only very faint... like a whisper of a new born...

I shall not stop here... I will continue with more, for now the Phoenix watches with a wondering eye.

Thank you so much for reading, I will post a new blog with an art update in a few days.

by Arana Kennedy
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Rock bottom ROCKS... Phoenix Rising

Phoenix Rising

stage 1 watercolour

A3 size

Art on Sunday

It's a sunny Sunday morning in Stanley, the birds are singing up a storm and in the distance I hear the sound of Dragon Boat racing in the Bay. This weeks art theme is the Phoenix. This symbolic mythical creature represents re birth from Greek times. 

The Phoenix first got my attention on those FB stickers... People seem rather fluent these days in communication via 'stickers' HAHA My way is to choose a couple of simple favorites and just use them for everything. I started using the Catniss girl on fire with the phoenix rising in the background. Next, my eye just kept gravitating towards phoenix images... Had I simply choosen the phoenix or has the Phoenix choosen me? 

The more I grow, the more all the random events in my life start to make sense. I feel a great sense of purpose in what I wish to achieve, but its going to take a whole lot of courage and courage is the one thing that I don't really see very often. So having courage feels a little bit lonely at times. 

Phoenix Rising

stage 2 watercolour

A3 size

Rising out of the flames

Feeling discarded, beaten and sore from the endless dullness of what my life had become. I hit rock bottom. I was a total mess. Couldn't even get out of bed for coffee in the morning. Didn't want to leave my house. I was terrified of the world. I was terrified of how the rest of my life was going to play out. I did not have the stamminer to keep going that way. 

Every thing just looked dull and bleak. I couldn't breath. I was suffocating on my own life. I'd try so hard to stretch myself across everything that I just wanted to collapse, hit the reset button and just change EVERYTHING.... 

So that's what I have been doing. Re inventing myself. I got bored of the old model ;) this one though... watch out, this persona has some real courage stirring in her soul. The arrival of the Phoenix seems almost magical. THe painting here speaks to me and says... stand aside, I have a wide wing span! I need my space in order to fly!

WATCH OUT... I BITE BACK

When I was younger, I didn't have the confidence to stand up when I saw a mis justice being done in a public place. Afterwards I'd feel riddled with guilt and shame because I didn't say or do anything. Shame on me. I knew better than that! Slowly I started speaking out, small things, like telling both cantonese and putongwha speakers "this is the bus line here, where are you going? can I help?" in their own languages... They smile and thank me and line up. I'm no saint hahaha! I yell at English speakers, hahahaha guess I know THEY KNOW there's a bus line! HAHAHA 

But I also noticed the rest of the line looking and nodding thanks to me. I simply handled the situation like... a kindergarten teacher would, with kindness!

I look around today and see the way adults treat kids and I can't help but wonder if they treated each other with half the kindness they are able to share with kids then we'd all get along a lot better.

Phoenix Rising

stage 3 watercolour

A3 size

personal flare

As the Phoenix prepares for flight

Gathering strength and focus

Aiming for a creative perfection

rising to the challenge of the path ahead.

Right now, for me, its all about the artwork. Everyday I draw and I paint with passion, the more I do the more creativity takes over and I can't stop the colourful imagines dancing through my mind. If you have no passion in your life then I suggest you stop what you are doing and go find what it is you were destined to do. We are all unique and individual, for me Art and creatiivty inspires me, for others it might be surfing or building rocketships. 

Don't let anything stop you. If you feel something is wrong, then make it right.

But then I could have it all wrong, once the phoenix takes flight, the dragon might eat it!? HAHAHAHA... well... anything is possible.

Thank you for reading.

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Phoenix Rising

Phoenix Rising

acrylic on canvas 30 by 60cm

And out of the furious fires of hell...

Rose an elegant and graceful create

She is young and naive 

Full of wonder and curiosity

Her wings have not been clipped

Nor will they

She draws strength from nature

Feels connected to the emotions of others

wants to grow and learn

deepen her beauty and understanding

She seeks knowledge and wisdom

Happiness and peace

Balance and harmony

a constant flow of evolving change

New artwork idea

From pain comes passion. An invisible driving force. As the dragons that I so dearly love become a part of my art... I felt they do represent a male persona and with the introduction of the Phoenix that compliments the dragon as a yin and yang, or balance. 

Phoenix mythology according to WiKI

So a new adventure begins with the Phoenix gracefully rising from the asses, determined to fly free....

Thank you for reading :)

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New art promo video by 
my artist friend Carsten 
1st draft

ART on SUNDAY

Flower Power Junk
Ink on Paper design
prints available
by Arana Kennedy

ART on SUNDAY

Living in Hong Kong and deciding to take on full time art has been one 'eye opening' experience. At first it felt like an impossible task, but the impossible soon turned into a challenge. I like to take something that has been discarded and forgotten about, breath new life into it and make it beautiful and valuable again. Which is probably why my love life has been such a disaster! HAHAHA! I tend to like 'fix up' projects ;)

I started all this with enough money to pay all my rent and bills for 12 months. Then a few months in I was asked to move out of my very cheap flat and that move cost me 11 months of my living costs... 

I saw it as a blessing in disguise as I moved back to my HK hometown of Stanley. Back surrounded by nature again. People asked where my inspiration of colour into my art came from... I paint how I feel... The move to Stanley opened my mind, I started to live and dream in vivid colours again.  It is a reflection of my subconscious mind at play.

Getting back to basics and nature really inspired a new way of looking at the world. At one point in my life I tried moving continents but I soon discovered the unrest I felt was a part of me and no matter where I was, I would still have to face this internal struggle I had going on. Nature is truly a magnificent gift of raw power and beauty. These days you are more likely to survive stranded on a deserted island than you would thrown into a city with nothing... But then maybe that's the point of all those scenario's on books and film... you can survive in nature, the real world.

Stepping out and considering my next move I discovered how 'rent for buisness' works in Hong Kong, not sure about the rest of the world. But not only do landlords get to charge over what is reasonable, if you manage to make enough money and start doing well then the landlord will expect to also profit from your business in the form of 'rental increase'. Your work your ass off to establish yourself in business and so I guess the landlord justify it by saying, your business value has increased therefore the value of this property has increased as a result of your hard work... Someone who is making money off property already now gets a cut of your handwork, time and energy. I'm sorry, it all seems a bit shady to me!

Since I am already struggling to pay my rent taking on a 'business rental' is completely out of the question for me now. So I decided to set up 'shop' in my home in the hope that friends, friends of friends and family could help by simply using word of mouth. This is where my idea came in to make cards. I thought its a good way that people can support me by not spending too much money. I feel really blessed when people buy one card from me. Because to me, that small gesture says 'I love your work, I can't afford to buy a painting but I support you' 

I am also asked why I don't show my work in galleries... When you have no budget to work with, hiring a van to transport work to and from events, soon adds up and is an expense I simply cant afford right now. I'm working towards that~! 

ART CARDS for all occasions 

ART CARDS... buy 1 card support an artist

To support my art contact me to 'buy a card' online, for HK$38. You can choose one card out of 30+ current designs, postage included. This will put you onto my 'members list of art patrons' So you will receive and email every time I put out 10 new designs so you can keep up to date.  Times are tough so every small bit counts.

So... the exciting part... the gallery! I decided to do 'open house' every Sunday, so poeple can just come down and take a look. It's fun to sit back and have a glass of vino or a coffee and chat art. People's budgets vary greatly, so with this in mind I do have artwork ranging from HK$250-UP as I try to provide for all. I understand that no everyone can afford large artwork, but as the artist who spent over 2 months working on a large piece I can afford to drop the price too low either, as that is 2 months of my time. I can lower the price, but only so much.

Art on Sunday, its open house, so don't feel you need to buy anything when you visit, I also take great pleasure from people's simple interest in my art. So far I have had a few groups in my gallery and have loved sharing wine and talking art. I often get a lot of useful feed back too so I'm happy to open my home.

With summer coming, I am getting into Henna tatoo designs, so if you pop down for a visit you can get a free henna tattoo! 

Contact info@AranaART.com (me) for more information, gallery veiwing at other times is by appointment only.