Let's Skip To The Good Part

Let's Skip To The Good Part

acrylic on canvas

24 x 24 in.

This painting is from my Endings and Beginnings Series.

Endings + Beginnings

An Abstract Series by Emily Lovejoy

This body of work emerged during a year marked by profound transformation. In the span of twelve months, I said goodbye to my two sphynx cats and our sweetest hen, and welcomed my son into the world. The shift from loss to new life has left the house feeling both emptier and fuller—echoing with silence in one breath and bursting with laughter in the next.

The paintings in this series reflect that duality: grief and joy, emptiness and fullness, stillness and motion. Throughout the process, I found myself deeply immersed in the study of color—exploring color theory through rigid palettes as well as intuitive choices, emotional resonance, and energetic balance. I let instinct and feeling guide me toward the hues I craved: cherry red, sage green, dusty rose, deep blue. These colors became emotional anchors—sometimes comforting, sometimes disruptive—but always alive.

While my recent practice has focused on surreal portraiture, abstraction has long been part of my visual language. In 2016, I created one abstract painting every day for a year—a self-directed study in spontaneity, emotion, and composition. That daily practice laid the foundation for how I approach abstraction now: with trust in intuition, reverence for rhythm, and especially openness to imperfection. Elements of abstraction and minimal form have even crept into my portrait work over the last few years.

In this season of heavy emotion and limited time, abstraction offered me a way back into my body. These paintings often came together in a single session, providing both creative release and the kind of instant gratification that feels necessary in a life newly shaped by motherhood.

Endings + Beginnings is a visual meditation on transition—on holding the sorrow of what’s gone and the wonder of what’s newly here. It’s an invitation to witness how color, shape, and texture can hold space for memory, transformation, and the sacred mess of becoming.