"Abstract art has always been a synonym of misunderstanding."
While at art college, Sophie specialized in hyperrealism and dreamed of becoming a full time artist. After graduating, however, she lost her passion for art and took a 10 year break without drawing or painting a single thing. That is, until she happened across a video on Instagram that changed everything: "When I saw my first fluid acrylic video on social media, I was completely hypnotized. I immediately realized that I was going to reproduce this technique."
During the lockdown, Sophie found both the time and the desire to create art once again. She challenged herself, not only to master the technique of fluid art, but to create paintings and cell work on a larger scale than she had seen online.
Sophie was already intrigued with epoxy resin after seeing artists using it on their paintings so, when she came across ArtResin at her local art store, she had to try it: "Epoxy is the most satisfying medium I know. I am in love with the shine and the depth it gives to my work."
"I'm in love with this brief moment when I know that I have manipulated the work enough and it’s over."
Sophie spends a lot of time preparing the various components before she pours a single drop. She sands, tapes off and gessos her wooden panels and prepares an average of 7L of product including paint, pouring medium, craft glue, silicone oil, water, gesso and ArtResin.
Sophie lets her work dry for about two weeks before she applies the topcoat of ArtResin. Because silicone oil will repel the resin, she is careful to remove any oily residue by washing her piece several times. She also applies a thin layer of sealant so that the ArtResin adheres properly to the surface. Once the resin has cured, she removes the tape and sands the back to a perfect finish. She signs her work with a metal plate on the side and provides a Certificate of Authenticity for each of her creations.
"The present moment is very important in my approach."
Sophie puts on her favorite music while she paints to help her feel calm "I don’t paint if I’m not in a good mood." Her favorite part of the process is selecting her color palette, often based on the chromatic circle. She allows the painting to unfold, the warm and cool tones fighting each other before finding a harmony, with the most visually interesting aspects guiding the process.
As someone who once saw art only through the lens realism, Sophie knows all too well that abstract art is often misunderstood. It's important to her that she helps people appreciate the intricacies of creating an abstract piece: the composition, the color theory, the process, the alchemy. Ultimately, Sophie wants to help people avoid doing what she used to do: judging abstract art without fully understanding it.
Sophie sells her work on her social media pages.
To see more:
Like her on Instagram @sophielevacart
Follow her on Facebook: sophielevacart
Congratulations on your win, Sophie!
To celebrate our amazing resin artists, every month we send out a 32 oz kit to a couple of folks who have tagged us on Instagram—and then we share their work with the world!
Don't forget, tag YOUR ArtResin work with @art_resin on Instagram, and YOU could be our next winner!!
ArtResin: Made For Artists, By Artists.
