A Little World of Hope, Wings & Possibility
Hello sweet art-lover!
There’s a particular feeling that comes when a collection of paintings is finally ready to leave the studio.
For weeks, my little house had been filling up with paintings. Canvases leaning against walls, framed pieces waiting to be photographed, piles of artwork gathered together while I painted, wrote, rearranged, and wondered where each piece might eventually find its home.
And then suddenly, it was time to open the doors.
My collection for the August Summer Show is now ready to step out into the world, and I’m excited to share it with you.
A collection about hope, wings & possibility
As I gathered all the paintings together, I was struck by how naturally the threads running through my work seemed to find one another.
There are paintings about weathering storms and beginning again. About staying rooted while reaching toward what you are becoming. About imagination, creativity, courage, and that wonderful sense of childlike wonder that I never want to lose.
There are little butterflies carrying wishes, flowers gathered close to the heart, wide horizons and stars waiting to be caught.
There are reminders to breathe, trust, dream and hope.
Some of these paintings are new. Others have traveled with me for years and hold a special place in my creative story. Seeing them together, they almost feel like characters in the same story.
A little world of their own.
Letting the paintings tell their stories
One of the things I love about mixed media painting is the way a piece can hold so many layers.
There might be paint underneath collage, marks beneath color, fragments of words, textures, scratches and little details that only reveal themselves when you come closer.
I think our lives are a little like that too.
There is always more beneath the surface than we can see at first.
When I look at this collection, I see paintings about the things that matter deeply to me: finding courage after difficult seasons, following our imagination, staying connected to hope, and allowing ourselves to dream about what might be possible.
These are not ideas I want to simply paint about. They are things I want to keep remembering myself.
Perhaps that is one of the reasons I love making art so much. The things we need to hear sometimes find their way onto the page or canvas before we even realize we need them.
Come wander through the collection
The full collection is being shared as part of the August Summer Show inside the Auctions with Stephanie Gagos Facebook group.
You can explore the paintings, read the stories behind them, look closely at all those delicious layers and textures, and discover which pieces speak to you.
If you find a painting that catches your heart, you can simply comment “Please tag me!” beneath the artwork. Once you’ve joined the group, you’ll be tagged when bidding begins.
And if you’re new to online art auctions, don’t worry. There is a handy guide inside the group explaining how everything works, and you can always ask questions if you get stuck.
Come wander through the collection and see where your eye takes you.
A few favorites before they begin their next chapter
There is quite a mix in this collection.
Tiny, whimsical keepsakes in secondhand frames sit alongside richly textured mixed-media landscapes and some of the largest and most treasured paintings I’ve ever offered for sale.
I love that variety.
And I love imagining where these paintings might go next.
Perhaps one will find its way above someone’s art table.
Perhaps another will become a companion in a room where someone goes to breathe, create, and come back to herself.
Perhaps one of those little winged wishes will land exactly where it needs to.
And perhaps one of them was always meant for you.
The magic of sending art out into the world
There is something both exciting and vulnerable about letting a painting go.
When you have spent hours with a piece, layering paint and paper, following little impulses, changing things, discovering unexpected marks and watching the image slowly emerge, it becomes part of your creative story.
Then comes the moment when you have to release it.
I think that is part of the magic of being an artist.
We make something from the mysterious mixture of imagination, intuition, memories and materials that lives inside us. We give it form. We let it become tangible.
And then we allow it to travel beyond us.
The painting becomes part of someone else's story.
That feels like a beautiful continuation of the creative process.
As I look around my house at this collection before it goes out into the world, I’m reminded that creativity is full of these moments of becoming.
A blank canvas becomes layers of paint.
A little idea becomes a painting.
A painting becomes part of a collection.
And eventually, something that began quietly in the studio finds its way into someone else's life.
We don't always know where the creative process is taking us when we begin.
Sometimes we simply have to put down the first layer and trust that something will unfold.
That is true for art, and perhaps for so much else.
Continue your creative journey
If this collection has made you want to pick up your own paintbrush, open your art journal, or simply make a little space for creativity again, I’d love to have you join me.
I share free creative inspiration and mixed media art journaling resources to help you reconnect with your imagination, experiment with layers and textures, and make art that feels like your own.
And if you’re ready to dive deeper, I offer online mixed media classes where I share my creative process and invite you to explore your own.
Come paint with me.
I'd love to hear from you!
Which painting caught your eye first?
And what kind of artwork would you love to welcome into your own creative space?
Leave me a comment and tell me. I’d love to know where these little pieces of hope, wings and possibility might be heading next.
