Last week, I was very proud to donate, Contemporary Teal, an original painting, to GiGi’s Playhouse Gala’s Silent Auction.

GiGi’s Playhouse is a Down syndrome organization with over 61 brick-and-mortar locations across the United States and Mexico.

Everyday GiGi’s Playhouse provides free, life-changing therapeutic, educational, and career training programs for over 30,000 individuals of all ages.

They empower families by maximizing opportunities for daily achievement and lasting acceptance.

I am very happy to donate art to assist with raising funds for this extraordinary organization.

Contemporary Teal is a minimalistic work that draws the viewer toward the deliberate gestural strokes of teal, gray and white. Contemporary Teal highlights my range of abstract expressionistic paintings containing complex layers of texture to the calm tranquility and contemplation of minimalism.

There is a deep degree of intentionality and self-restraint required in this work, where I was able to balance conscious decision making while also trusting the movement of my hand to canvas.

The scale of the piece demanded a slow approach which is not typical of my art.

Usually, I act quickly, and impulsively, but here, I had to approach with a calm deliberative marks.

It was important to not overpower the painting, allowing the negative space to ground the work as well as the viewer.

The negative space consists of the natural, unprimed canvas.

There is something so beautiful about the natural canvas that one rarely gets to see.

The beige is soothing, opposed to florescent white, creating a sense of warmth.

There is something about negative space that quiets the mind, allowing the viewer to really dial into the painting, gently meditating upon each quadrant of the work.

The gestural strokes resemble Japanese calligraphy, also providing a meditative effect upon the viewer. The focus of the circular movement of each color is balanced by the natural background.

AVM Hawkins; Impetus at Mid Main Gallery

Contemporary Teal was exhibited in Impetus, where I internally explore my purpose as an artist, as well as the mysterious force that compels creativity and its necessity to be released into physical form—a story told through a compilation of paintings I’ve created from 2019 - 2021.

Impetus showcased my quintessential works which have signaled my continual desire to evolve, while highlighting my use of color, negative space, and ability to balance complexity and simplicity.

It is my hope that the viewer finds the work, meditative and calming, helping to clear a person’s mind—making it lighter—allowing the viewer to gaze around the work discovering little subtle details that really make Contemporary Teal special.

Art Highlight: Contemporary Teal