"Olive Tree" by Carly Grant

Acrylic Paints, Mixed Media

3' by 4'

I am a fine artist based in the metro Chicago area. I primarily work with acrylics on canvas. My art is designed to invoke feeling, whether the piece is activist-oriented, life-commenting, spiritual, or playful. Olive Tree fits somewhere uncommitted to all of these things.

In the midst of an increasingly busy life, finding time to paint has became elusive. When I first started Olive Tree, it was an expression of repressed creative energy. Wild, seemingly uncontrolled color, without even a thought of an olive tree. After that initial burst, it took several months to return to the painting.

I did after a trip to Greece. Olive trees were everywhere. Their silvery-sage leaves drew me in and I was in awe. Returning home was somewhat jarring and my colorful chaos seemed to unwittingly mirror that. I realized I needed an anchor, something to focus on, and something to bring calm. So emerged the visual center of Olive Tree.

It took another year to finish this piece. I had left it with hollow spaces and disjunction. Those places are now filled with energy, undefined yet invoking the power of nature. Olive Tree is meant to acknowledge the messiness of life, things we cannot control, and nature’s ability to offer an avenue of peace, even if for a little bit.