It has become a tradition of mine and other blogger friends to wind down the year with some Top “insert number”- Lists of work , posts and photos, before the year ends. It makes me go back and look at what I have done and accomplished and it also makes me dwell in memories. Too often we forget about the things we did and accomplished throughout the year- often just bashing ourselves for not fulfilling all the wonderful new year’s resolutions from last year. Maybe this makes you wanna do it too – if so – share 
2014 was definitely a year I did more work on canvas than any other years before – here are my personal top five canvases:
1. On The Flip Side
This one might be my absolute favorite of the year – it has a lot of personal meaning for me and that might be actually the only reason why it is a favorite- LOL- the personal meaning – although- I do like that I for a change was also working in a bit different color rage than usual.
2. The Powerhouse
I like this one because of the colors and …because I stopped- LOL. I wasn’t sure in the beginning if that was done and then I decided to let it go and I am so happy I did. This canvas taught me that it is ok to have long breaks in between and come back after a while, just to decide to call it finished.
3. Standing Strong
This canvas does not have as much texture as usual- but I did like creating it a lot. I started mixing very intrigue parts of buildings with undefined parts and it gave me a push from there on to explore this a bit more.
4. Everything is Gentrified
This painting gave me a lot of headaches- meanwhile and after – I do love it -but I learned a lot about light sources. How important it is in which light you work and in which light you then maybe hang it. It is a painting that needs a well lit area and it changes it’s looks during the day from vibrant and uplifting to dark and oppressing. For sure interesting for me and while not perfect- it goes with the topic and title.
5. In the Same Boat?
This one was also a canvas of headaches – LOL. I had a finished picture in my head when I started it- which was a huge mistake and then I also started mixing some colors which at first I totally did not like. It took me forever to finish this work up- the canvas was sitting on the easel and I would look at it contemplating for weeks if I should just paint over it. And then I didn’t …and it grew on me – and now I really like it -I do like the colors I mixed …another canvas that taught me to be patient.
What I learned:
2014 marks definitely a year where I feel I have learned to be patient with me, my skills and my work. I also learned that I shouldn’t give up too early on something.
My goal for 2015:
All of those canvases are a smaller scale (12×24 is I think the biggest one- still not having the U.S. sizes in my head- LOL) – so my goal for next year is to go bigger – so we will see :) . I started a bigger canvas a couple weeks ago- I will show you the process in a couple days. It feels pretty daring to me but is a lot of fun :)
Hope you enjoyed this little journey – next up will be photos and art journal pages!
have a gorgeous day
Comments (8)
Joi@RR
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I have never been to New York and I don’t even want to admit it but I don’t know what the High Line is so I had to look it up – whew. Such a home body am I. I absolutely adore all the colors in this work. And guess what? I am not a pink person at all!! So…. that’s a real compliment from me!! Somehow the pink is perfect and it doesn’t even seem “pink” the way you mixed it all together and added the other bright colors to scene. As always you inspire me Nathalie. I’m off to try something pink – dear me… unbelievable!!! LOVE THIS. Xj.
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nathalie-kalbach
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YEahhh – Joi, I am not a pink person either :) How fun this inspires you to try it though – sometimes it is good if we just play with colors, right?
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Joanne
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Fantastic! I love the High Line and this is a great interpretation. The colors are wonderful.
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nathalie-kalbach
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Thank you Joanne!
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Leadonna Kimmel
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I so love this! The colors are fantastic! Still waiting for my new replacement paints from Jimmy and then I want to jump in and create something fun like this! (Hoping Jimmy didn’t forget about me! LOL!)
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nathalie-kalbach
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thanks Leadonna ! No – he did not forget about you – I sent you a the tracking number.
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Francine
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stunning Natalie it’s an Awesome Word of art❤️
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nathalie-kalbach
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thank you so much Francine!
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