Every month we like to spread the love by sending a 1 gallon kit to a couple of artists who have tagged us on Instagram ... and then we share their work with the world!
Congratulations to mixed media artist Cor Beattie ... our first lucky winner for November! Cor is based in Ottawa, Ontario and balances his love of painting with a love of sports and a full time career. Self-taught, Cor's artistic journey began by adding "paint a painting" to his annual bucket list. Once it was complete, Cor was hooked and has been creating art ever since.
Cor has experimented with several different styles over the years, including concrete and figurative work, but what resonates with him most is the open interpretation that abstract art provides for both painter and viewer. Cor says: "I always return to abstract acrylic work. I love that my emotions, expressions or vision for a piece may be totally different from the collector purchasing the piece. For that reason, I almost never share my reasoning or story behind a piece. I want each person to have a unique experience, thus making it an internal and personal journey."
Cor creates for one primary reason: to bring affordable beauty into people's lives. In fact, it means so much to him that he has even incorporated it as the mission statement on his website. The homepage reads: "A major part of my creative journey is to ensure that colorful, rich and original art is available and affordable to everyone. Regardless of their situation, everyone deserves beautiful things in their lives."
Cor first discovered resin about 9 years ago when he was looking for a varnish alternative - once he tried it, there was no going back. He says "I loved having "a new look" back then. No one had seen this before and reactions were amazing. Everyone wanted to touch! Colors popped, details were enhanced and mistakes were nicely covered up. It was a slice of heaven and the ease of use is so satisfying."
When Cor started his artistic journey, pouring and fluid art were becoming popular. Although he enjoyed the look of flow art, Cor wanted to find other ways of achieving the end result, but with a higher level of control: "By chance, I came across a video for cake decorating that showed a technique using a small bottle with a needle on top, allowing the artist a phenomenal amount of control over the details of their piece. I was instantly sold. I bought cake bottles, medical syringes and never looked back. Took a lot of experimentation with consistencies and needle sizes but I love the fact that I can create pieces that have a sketch, plan or solid vision behind them. Nothing is left to chance. I can achieve a very fine level of detail which as a control freak can be very useful. I use brushes both big and small to add fine details or remove areas that don't satisfy my perfectionism."
Cor is currently creating techniques to make fine lines and designs in his resin work too.
Cor also creates textured pieces by pouring a thin coat of fine concrete onto a wooden panel. Using a variety of tools, including forks, knives, buttons, fencing, shoe soles, wheels, screwdrivers etc, Cor imprints patterns into the wet concrete. Once the impressions are complete, the pieces are left to dry for a couple of days before getting 4-5 layers of paint and varnish over the course of a few days. Finally a thin layer of ArtResin is applied by hand to strengthen and protect.
Cor has a unique way of curing his resin pieces to control temperature, dust and humidity ... he cures them in a small bathroom.
- First, he mists the air with a spray water bottle to reduce dust.
- Next, he dehumidifies the room for an hour.
- The freshly resined piece goes in and is covered by a massive old TV box which he has cut the back out of. Cor places plastic sheets over the opening to prevent any dust getting in.
- He then places a rotating space heater on and closes the door.
Cor gets immense satisfaction in meeting his customers and hearing their feedback and can often be found at local shows in the Ottawa area. Cor says: "When I decided to continue my creative journey back in 2010, I had to sit myself down and decide who I wanted to be: a hobby artist or a professional artist. In my opinion, I couldn't be both. Not at the same time anyway. So, when I decided to give this all a real go, I hit the pavement and must have walked into about 100 cafes, restaurants, and bars asking for an opportunity to display my pieces. I invested in 1000 post cards and mailed them out to businesses, galleries and well known affluent homes in the region introducing myself. I created a website, Instagram page and a Facebook presence. My marketing and advertising degree sure came in handy. Since then, I participate in about 8 shows a year, I am in 3-4 establishments around the city and am a represented artist at The Koyman Galleries (Canada's Largest Commercial Gallery) since 2018. I am so grateful to those that have supported me up until this point. Who knows how long it will last. Got to make the best while it's within reach!"
Congratulations on your win, Cor!
To see more of Cor's work:
follow him on Instagram at @4cornerart
visit his website at www.cor1000.com
Don't forget ... tag YOUR ArtResin work with @art_resin on Instagram, and YOU could be our next monthly winner!!!
