Hey Everyone!

My latest piece “Aqueous” will be on display and for sale at the second annual People’s Portrait Prize Show at cSPACE King Edward here in Calgary, Alberta. Last year’s show yielded some of the most incredible talents this city has to offer, and this year will undoubtedly be no different.

This piece is a little different for me but is a style/genre I’ve been wanting to explore for a while. It’s a truly mixed media piece in that I used Pan Pastel as well as colored pencil in almost equal amounts for the entire piece. I also used an acrylic paint pen for some of the white highlights. Using these two mediums together was not only more time efficient but also allowed for some interesting blending effects.

“Aqueous” 11×14 in Faber-Castell Polychromos and Pan Pastels on Fabriano Artistico Hot Press Watercolor Paper 2018.
 All images copyright Barb Sotiropoulos. All Rights Reserved.

The title of this piece, “Aqueous” means like water or watery. I was inspired by the idea of emotions being fluid like water – ever changing and sometimes unpredictable. The strong presence of waterlilies in this piece is symbolic of love, optimism, and spiritual enlightenment. Visually, the piece represents working towards a sense of balance between feeling the vast complexity of emotion and finding inner peace within that.

EVENT DETAILS
March 12–24th
cSPACE King Edward – 1721 29 Avenue SW, Calgary, AB
Hallway Galleries Levels 1-4

People’s Portrait Prize features portrait and figurative artwork by over 300 local artists. Artwork will be judged by a jury in categories, and visitors can vote for the People’s Choice Award! Awards will be presented at the wrap-up event on Saturday, March 17th at 7 p.m.

For more information visit: https://www.peoplesportraitprize.com/