Sitting Pretty - Imaginative Realism Original Oil painting - Ready to Hang.

'Sitting Pretty' is the an imaginative realism piece in a new series by professional, gallery represented Perth artist Mia Laing. This painting took over 6 weeks to create and is on premium canvas on a professionally made stretcher. Varnished for protection against the elements, it is ready to hang straight from the box, or framing can be arranged.

Mia started this series coincidentally in the year that travel has become harder to accomplish. Mia had plans for this series in 2019, but with the onset of the crazy year we call 2020, she was able to fully focus on bringing these imaginative pieces into fruition.

One of Mia's Perth based brick and mortar galleries has snapped up all these imaginative realism pieces as Mia has created them, but 'Sitting Pretty' has been held specifically for BT and the Bluethumb art prize.

Imaginative realism is a genre that is finding strength in todays competitive and collectable art market. It has affiliation with illustration, but stands alone as a fully formed genre of larger scale artworks that include aspects of illustration, narrative art, conceptualism, symbolism, surrealism and traditional still-life painting.

Mia starts with a concept, in this case it was the suitcases and forms and imagines the scene from there, creating a painting purely from her imagination. The use of an idiom for the title, adds to the narrative of the painting.
Spend some time allowing your eyes to wander this painting...all the nuance of a typical tropical holiday are there, but with a lot more creativity and humour than a traditional still-life oil painting. Many of the forms in this painting are either symbolic, have idioms or cliches in the English language, or are purely decorative.
Depending on each viewers lived experience, each viewer will read a different story in this art...
Are you currently weathering a storm, or seeing that each storm has a silver lining?
You may feel the suitcases are sunk and all is lost at sea, or you may see that they have created the perfect sitting pretty perch for the cheeky cockatoo, complete with a good book and a mocktail! The book, butterfly, shell, flowers, fruit and compass have all been used for millennia as symbolism in art.

This painting was painted to bring joy...no matter whether it is 2020 or many, many years into the future. I hope the collector of this piece will hang it where family and friends will stop, spend time in contemplation and be ready to have a great conversation about the personal story they read in it. A reminder of the year that got crazy, but a narrative not necessarily about this year. Family friendly art and a beautiful piece for any home or business.

Follow

Mia Laing is a Professional award-winning Perth artist, having worked full time in the industry for over 15 years and has been with Bluethumb since nearly its beginning, from 2016.
Mia is listed as one of the top 5 still-life artists on Bluethumb, a great accolade with thousands of artists listed.

Working mostly in oil paints, utilizing the latest technologies in mediums and materials to ensure the longevity of each piece. Quality is my objective with each piece.

West Australian oil painter, Mia Laing has successfully navigated a career as a multiple genre artist, painting widely across still life, narrative portraiture, wildlife, pets, whimsy, and illustration, receiving awards, gallery representation, and greeting card and homeware licensing for a number of her paintings over the last 15 years.
She has enjoyed collaboration via Bluethumb with Disney Australia and through her networks, with Screen West for artwork used on set in a television mini-series.

The early days of her career were spent pursuing children’s illustrations in watercolor and gouache. Mia’s current work still includes many aspects of the detailed and narrative drawings she once produced, combining still-life, wildlife, and landscape into refined larger-scale oil paintings. Her paintings have affiliations with illustration, narrative art, conceptualism, symbolism, surrealism, and traditional realism.
Mia’s most recent paintings fall into the newer genre of imaginative realism; a genre that is finding strength in today’s competitive and collectible art market. She starts with a concept, for example, suitcases, and forms and imagines a scene from there, creating a painting purely from her imagination, seeking reference photos for the various elements within the painting mostly from her photography.
Creativity and humor and a language play are a constant source of inspiration for Mia. Many of the forms in her newer works are symbolic, though most are purely decorative and she will often title her works with an idiom or cliche. Depending on the viewer's lived experience, each viewer will read a different story in her art. Mia’s artworks are created to bring joy and color into homes.

Mia’s work is highly realistic and beautifully rendered with color and glazing.
A number of her images have been contracted by Lalalandshop, a licensing company selling greeting cards and merchandise across Australia and internationally. Her cards and merchandise were launched in February 2019. Originals from this series are available to purchase.
Mia’s works come varnished and ready to hang. Signed on both the front and back, with a certificate of authenticity. Framing is available for an additional cost. Commissions are available.

Represented Online with Bluethumb Art.

Licensing: Lalalandshop Australia