For 20 years, Atlanta artist Blayne Macauley has been painting unique art that tells a story. After studying art in Venice at the Scuola Internazionale di Grafica and Studio Art at Boston University, it still took her years to find her own artistic voice. Lucky for us, she found a style that is authentically her. She creates captivating mixed media painting/drawing masterpieces. As you can see below, Blayne’s passion for art is beautifully intertwined with her passion for storytelling.
Each painting clearly tells a story. She uses symbols to create abstract paintings, which represent exact moments in her life. While I am sure the art below has a narrative she created, I think it is so fun to look at them and create your own story. After all, it’s the personal appeal of art that makes it so special in our lives. Blayne explains her art beautifully-
“My style really solidified after I lost my dad two years ago. I was working through a lot of emotions and trying to hold onto really happy memories of my life and childhood. My dad was a really excellent photographer, and used his camera to try to hold onto or stop time for a moment. That’s how I discovered the method of boiling down specific moments into symbols, and through that I created a visual language of memories. Creating that language allowed me to push my work further than I ever thought possible, and now I use layers and texture in combination with the symbols. For me, the paintings signify looking back in time and the way memory can warp and shape something so you only remember the things that were important to you.”
See Blayne’s Art HERE
Follow Blayne on Instagram HERE
“Not afraid to feel, Macauley’s painted drawings are emphatic in emotion and thought. Similar to paleolithic cave paintings, Blayne leaves you with the marks of her past and present experiances.”
– Brian Coleman, American Painter
Blayne’s Artist Statement:
My artwork explores the idea of the human soul. As a soul travels through life it changes. It grows, learns, and is damaged by life events. Certain moments in time can permanently impact a soul.
My work explores those certain moments that shaped and defined my life. Each impactful moment is distilled down to one image (basket, swing set, kite, man with a crown). With those symbols I’ve created a visual language that I can use in different ways and allow them to interact with each other. Those interactions represent the malleability of memory, and how my current life perspective impacts my perspective on the events of my past.
I love this artwork she created for designer, Brian Patrick Flynn, celebrating his marriage in Antartica.
“Anne Irwin Fine Art is so fortunate to represent the work of Atlanta-based Blayne Macauley. Her work is incredibly unique and enigmatic in its narrative-based complexity; yet approachable and visually appealing at the same time. Still in her early career, we are enthusiastic about how her process will grow and develop as she matures in her craft.”
– Emily West, Gallery Director
Anne Irwin Fine Art