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inspiration corner
EXPLORING NEW WAYS TO CREATE
by Andrea Garvey
Andrea Garvey (left) and her mom, Heather Daubmann (right).
I was a real artsy kid growing up, always drawing, coloring, or making some crafty thing. Thinking back on the trajectory of my art journey, it was when I was younger that I’d enjoy playing with all sorts of art tools and mediums – experimenting and exploring new things. I have only recently gone back to that place and been childlike again with my art.
For 20+ years, I worked in corporate America as a graphic designer and then creative director. While raising a family and working, there wasn’t any extra time to make art, even though that creative passion was starting to rumble inside. In my late ‘40s my mother-in-law passed away suddenly, and two nights later, I had a vivid dream of a painting with all her favorite things. It was full of color and joy, and rich in vibrant florals. The next day I set out to recreate this image, pick up a paintbrush, and watch the story unfold of this dream. All the while, it was becoming my therapy and outlet to grieve, and soon I realized the artist inside of me was busting to get out.
Once I completed my dream painting, I was obsessed with bringing art back into my life. With such a vast gap in my art practice, I had to go back to the beginning and relearn some old tricks. I took lots of art courses and found that there was so much to explore and uncover – art supplies I had never heard of, new ways to paint, and a world of inspiration online. It wasn’t long before I had a side hustle business on Etsy, selling art at craft fairs and festivals, and painting in all my spare time.
While I was immersing myself in art again, my mom, Heather, was also doing the same within her decorative art community. We had parallel art lives for several years. She also went to workshops, took art classes, painted with oils and acrylics, and learned new techniques like I was doing. We live on opposite coasts, so we’d often have “zoom art time” throughout the pandemic. She would work on her pieces and me on mine while we chatted away, sipped our tea, and painted. It was one of the highlights of being homebound for so long.
I always loved to see what she was working on and one piece, in particular, caught my eye. It was a design from Paulette DiGesare “Peacock in a Rainbow” I’ve always been crazy about peacocks, and with all those fantastic colors she used, I instantly fell in love.
12 TheDecorativePainter • FALL 2021