Instagram | Blog of Artist Vanessa Lam | A Drop of Wonder Studio

Art process & inspiration via Instagram feed

adropofwonderstudio

Detail of layers of drawing and painting together.

Detail of layers of drawing and painting together.
.
.
.
.
.
.
#vanessalam #abstractart #kunst #artexperiments #abstractdrawing #drawing #ink #shapes #yvrart #abstractpainting #fineart #shapestudy #abstracted #abstraction #LTMIseemyart #yvrart #fineart #contemporary #cbcarts #diyresidency #herenowresidency #todaysartreport #femaleartist #artforinteriors #artconsultant #canadianartist #artprocess

This piece been on a bit of a journey. It started

This piece been on a bit of a journey. It started as a drawing, then it was painted, cut apart, restitched and now reshaped into another new form. It feels strange but it’s growing on me.
.
.
.
.
.
#newwork #vanessalam #abstractart #shapestudy #sculpture #kunst #cutouts #shapes #abstractart #form #canvas #abstracted #abstraction #LTMIseemyart #yvrart #fineart #contemporary #cbcarts #todaysartreport #femaleartist #artcurator #artconsultant #artforinteriors #canadianartist #diyresidency #artprocess #herenowresidency

Looking at intersections between works. These two

Looking at intersections between works. These two may end up becoming one. The first few moments of the coming back into the studio are the best for me as I love how everything looks new and fresh to my eyes.
.
.
.
.
.
#wip #vanessalam #abstractart #kunst #yvrart #abstractpainting #fineart #workinprogress #abstracted #abstraction #LTMIseemyart #yvrart #fineart #contemporary #cbcarts #studioscenes #happyaccidents #todaysartreport #femaleartist #artforinteriors #artcurator #canadianartist #herenowresidency #diyresidency #artprocess

#wip This was a drawing loosely based on one of my

#wip This was a drawing loosely based on one of my used painting towels which then became a cutout and is now part of a collage in progress. Looking ahead, these next few months for me will be about managing my energy and being more intentional. If I can still create a little bit of art then I’m happy. Finding all the little joys in the day can make a difference.
.
.
.
.
.
.
#workinprogress #vanessalam #contemporarycollage #papercollage #yvrart #fineart #kolaj #cutouts #analogcollage #shapes #form #shapestudy #abstractart #new_and_abstract #abstractcollage #abstraction #LTMIseemyart #yvrart #fineart #contemporary #cbcarts ##todaysartreport #femaleartist #diyresidency #herenowresidency #artforinteriors #canadianartist

I was going through my studio today and forgot tha

I was going through my studio today and forgot that I made this in November. There will be more variations of these reshaped canvas cutouts coming.
.
.
.
.
.
#vanessalam #abstractart #shapestudy #kunst #cutouts #shapes #abstractart #form #canvas #abstracted #abstraction #sculpture #LTMIseemyart #yvrart #fineart #contemporary #cbcarts #diyresidency #todaysartreport #femaleartist #artforinteriors #canadianartist #artprocess #herenowresidency

Finally getting back into the studio a little more

Finally getting back into the studio a little more this week after doing a lot of admin work that I’ve put off for too long. Last month I had the chance to take @londondrawinggroup ‘s workshop Henri Matisse Online: Painting with Scissors with @frances.stanfield It happened that I recently read Henri Matisse The Cutouts book earlier this year so really enjoyed the prompts that Frances provided. This was a great exercise in observation and spontaneity. The playlist really added some great energy and ambiance to the online format. I liked the idea of cutting into a field of colour. Cutting quickly with scissors is challenging but I was surprised at the different shapes I created instead of using a cutting knife.
.
.
Scroll back to last photo to see the cutouts that I first made from the workshop.
.
.
I thought about how expressive Matisse’s shapes were and especially conveying movement from figures. The third image are some shapes inspired by the silhouettes of dancer Martha Graham.
.
.
The first two images are some collages that I made later that were inspired by the workshop.
.
.
Looking forward to doing more colour and shape explorations this year.
.
.
.
.
.
#vanessalam #abstractart #shapestudy #kunst #cutouts #shapes #abstractart #drawingwithscissors #papercollage #paintingwithscissors #londondrawinggroup #form #abstracted #abstraction #yvrart #fineart #contemporary #diyresidency #herenowresidency#femaleartist #artprocess

#tbt to 2018. Thanks for your support in this unus

#throwback to my show last October. I still think

#throwback to my show last October. I still think about this body of work which took inspiration from from Rebecca Solnit’s book The Faraway Nearby. The creative process is not always clearly defined especially these past few months.
.
.
Solnit writes:
“Creation is always in the dark because you can only do the work of making by not quite knowing what you’re doing, by walking into darkness, not staying in the light. Ideas emerge from the edges and shadows to arrive in the light, and though that’s where they may be seen by others, that’s not where they’re born.”
.
.
The work on the right recently found a new home but the piece on the left, Silence Around All Sounds, you can still find at @iantangallery
.
.
.
.
.
.
📸by @byron_cameraman #vanessalam #abstractart #kunst #yvrart #abstractpainting #fineart #rebeccasolnit #abstractpainting #abstractart #thefarawaynearby #abstracted #abstraction #LTMIseemyart #yvrart #fineart #contemporary #cbcarts #tbt #happyaccidents #todaysartreport #femaleartist #artforinteriors #artcurator #canadianartist #artprocess

Reshaping canvas cutouts and warming up to the col

Reshaping canvas cutouts and warming up to the colour yellow. The only thing I know for certain right now is to keep making and experimenting.
.
.
.
.
.
#vanessalam #abstractart #shapestudy #kunst #cutouts #shapes #abstractart #form #sculpture #canvas #abstracted #abstraction #LTMIseemyart #yvrart #fineart #contemporary #cbcarts #diyresidency #todaysartreport #femaleartist #artforinteriors #canadianartist #artprocess #herenowresidency

Detail of a painting in progress. It captures a wi

Detail of a painting in progress. It captures a wild mix of turmoil, strangeness and hope. That also sums up my birthday today alongside some tasty takeout. I still get to celebrate by taking the rest of the week off from the day job and be in the studio instead. ❤️❤️
.
.
.
.
.
.
#vanessalam #abstractart #kunst #yvrart #abstractpainting #fineart #wip #workinprogress #abstractpainting #abstractart #abstracted #abstraction #LTMIseemyart #yvrart #fineart #contemporary #cbcarts #happyaccidents #todaysartreport #femaleartist #artforinteriors #canvas #canadianartist #artprocess #herenowresidency

This year continues to be a roller coaster of a ri

This year continues to be a roller coaster of a ride. I am fortunate that I have art to turn to during these challenging times. I would not be able survive my day job as a health professional without creating. Artists still have a substantial role in society and their needs have only intensified over time.

Your support has allowed me the ability to donate 10% of my sales since March for total of $500 amongst the following three organizations:

$150 to @seara_fund Sector Equity for Anti-Racism in the Arts (SEARA) was created by BC Arts Service Organizations and other sector leaders to call for mutual aid and accountability in the arts. To simultaneously provide COVID-19 support and point to the inadequacies of current arts-funding models, SEARA looks to galvanize sectoral efforts and deliver $500K-$1M to BC-based BIPOC Artists currently facing financial hardship.

$150 to @hogans.alley (HAS), who is a non-profit organization composed of civil rights activists, business professionals, community organizations, artists, writers and academics committed to daylighting the presence of Black history in Vancouver and throughout British Columbia. HAS adopts research driven approach to community development that seeks to preserve and promote the historical, cultural, societal and economic contributions made by Black Settlers and their descendants to Vancouver, Greater Vancouver, the Province of British Columbia, the Pacific Northwest and Canada.

$150 to @endingviolencebc (EVA BC) works to coordinate and support the work of victim-serving and other anti-violence programs in BC through the provision of issue-based consultation and analysis, resource development, training, research and education. Their work is guided by respect for difference, human dignity and equality. EVA BC works with over 300 community-based services and initiatives to prevent sexual violence and support survivors of sexual assault, relationship violence, child abuse and criminal harassment.

I am so grateful for your support no matter how small it may be.

📸 by @rachelpick
#bipoc #yvr #vancity #yvrart #bipocartists #canadianartist #seara #evabc #hogansalleysociety #supportartists

There’s a reason why a little messiness can lend

There’s a reason why a little messiness can lend itself to some happy accidents. I had a remnant of a torn up painting laying around at home and now I think I know what I want to do with it.
.
.
.
.
.
.
#vanessalam #abstractart #kunst #shapes #yvrart #abstractpainting #fineart #abstractpainting #shapestudy #shapes #abstractart #abstracted #cutouts #abstraction #LTMIseemyart #yvrart #makesomethingmonday #fineart #contemporary #cbcarts #happyaccidents #todaysartreport #femaleartist #artforinteriors #canvas #canadianartist #artprocess #herenowresidency

Seeing what happens when I channel a little of my

Seeing what happens when I channel a little of my younger self who used to be glued to watching and reading all things science fiction/ fantasy. Probably still looking a little on the subtle side...

#vanessalam #contemporarycollage #papercollage #yvrart #fineart #kolaj #c_expo #cutandpaste #shapestudy #shapes #abstractart #new_and_abstract #abstraction #LTMIseemyart #yvrart #fineart #contemporary #cbcarts #todaysartreport #femaleartist #artforinteriors #canadianartist #herenowresidency

In making this collage I was thinking about a book

In making this collage I was thinking about a book I recently finished reading called Hope in the Dark: Untold Histories, Wild Possibilities by Rebecca Solnit. It made me think about reshaping a new world of wild possibilities. The themes she brings up are still so relevant now. There are sections that I reread and reflect on the uncertainty we are all experiencing this year. She states “that very uncertainty is the space for hope”. In the foreword she mentions that she wants to propose a new vision of how change happens. She shares examples of activism and movements throughout history to shed light on the few victories that get overlooked. Rebecca states “...change comes upon us like a change of weather. All these transformations have in common is that they begin in the imagination, in hope. To hope is to gamble. It’s to bet on the future, on your desires, on the possibility that an open heart and uncertainty is better than gloom and safety. To hope is dangerous, and yet it is the opposite of fear, for to live is to risk....Hope calls for action; action is impossible without hope.”
.
.
.
.
.
.
#rebeccasolnit #hopeinthedark #spaceforhope #contemporarycollage #papercollage #yvrart #fineart #kolaj #c_expo #cutandpaste #analogcollage #shapes #form #shapestudy #abstractart #new_and_abstract #abstractcollage #abstraction #LTMIseemyart #yvrart #fineart #contemporary #cbcarts #vanessalam #todaysartreport #femaleartist #artforinteriors #canadianartist #herenowresidency #theideafoundation

I’m trying to the make most of the little bit of

I’m trying to the make most of the little bit of time I can carve out. It’s the small things now that help me feel that there are possibilities.
.
.
.
.
.

#vanessalam #contemporarycollage #papercollage #yvrart #fineart #kolaj #c_expo #cutandpaste #analogcollage #bookpage #shapes #form #shapestudy #abstractart #new_and_abstract #abstraction #LTMIseemyart #yvrart #fineart #contemporary #cbcarts #todaysartreport #painting #femaleartist #artforinteriors #canadianartist #theideafoundation

Really enjoying making these new forms from canvas

Really enjoying making these new forms from canvas cutouts. Just going to keep going with them and see what happens.

#vanessalam #abstractart #abstractpainting #sculpture #shapes #new_and_abstract #abstraction #LTMIseemyart #yvrart #shapestudy #form #fineart #contemporary #cbcarts #wip #todaysartreport #painting #femaleartist #artforinteriors #paintersofinstagram #canadianartist #theideafoundation #herenowresidency

These monotype collage variations will keep coming

These monotype collage variations will keep coming until I run out of paper which may be soon!

#vanessalam #contemporarycollage #papercollage #yvrart #fineart #kolaj #c_expo #cutandpaste #analogcollage #bookpages #bookpage #shapes #form #shapestudy #abstractart #new_and_abstract #abstraction #LTMIseemyart #yvrart #fineart #contemporary #cbcarts #todaysartreport #painting #femaleartist #artforinteriors #canadianartist #theideafoundation #herenowresidency

New collage that I made last week with a 30 minute

New collage that I made last week with a 30 minute time limit.
.
.
.
.
.
#vanessalam #contemporarycollage #papercollage #yvrart #fineart #kolaj #c_expo #cutandpaste #colourstudy #shapestudy #shapes #abstractart #abstraction #theideafoundation #new_and_abstract #abstraction #LTMIseemyart #yvrart #fineart #contemporary #cbcarts #todaysartreport #femaleartist #artforinteriors #canadianartist #herenowresidency

#flashback to October last year when I created a n

#flashback to October last year when I created a new body of work inspired by Rebecca Solnit’s book The Faraway Nearby. This was the last painting in the series that I was able to finish in time. I am always astonished at what I learn during the process especially between the first and last piece. The learning is still going.
.
.
This is one of the few remaining from the series which is available at @iantangallery
.
.
House of Exhalations, 2019
Mixed media on canvas
58.5” x 52.5”
.
.
.
.
#vanessalam #abstractart #abstractpainting #abstracted #abstraction #LTMIseemyart #yvrart #fineart #contemporary #cbcarts #todaysartreport #femaleartist #painting #artforinteriors #fbf #throwback #canadianartist #artprocess #rebeccasolnit #theideafoundation

A painting that was a cutout that is now something

A painting that was a cutout that is now something in between painting and sculpture.
.
.
.
.
.
.
#vanessalam #abstractart #shapestudy #kunst #cutouts #shapes #abstractart #abstractpainting #form #canvas #abstracted #abstraction #LTMIseemyart #yvrart #fineart #contemporary #cbcarts #todaysartreport #femaleartist #artforinteriors #canadianartist #artprocess #herenowresidency

Load More... Follow on Instagram