Cardenden artist bringing light to lockdown
An artist from Cardenden is bringing a ray of sunshine to the town by taking her art outside to create a kaleidoscope of colours.
Olwen Ballantyne, known for her paintings of angels has found inspiration during the lockdown and has set out to make her town a more colourful place.
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Hide AdOlwen started painting in 2004 and each one of her angel paintings carry a message as well as its own amazing and unique energy.
Olwen said: “I decided to start painting outside because everything that is happening right now is a very sad and difficult time for everyone.
“I wanted to share all the beautiful colours with everyone, when we do art we connect to joyfulness.
“I initially started painting the side of my house and the wall at the stairwell, then I moved on to a fence and also the end wall of a block of flats. Having this opportunity to paint outside like this has been absolutely amazing.”
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Hide AdOlwen’s passion for art started after she attended an art group in Dalgety Bay.
“In the beginning I maybe did three pieces of art a year and it was all very mediocre, then one day I painted an angel and it was like stardust to me – it was magical.
“When I paint I don’t have any plan, you don’t need any rules, just a brush and paint – preferably beautifully coloured paint. Having a structure when I paint is far too rigid for me, it doesn’t allow for flights of fancy.
“Anyone can do what I’m doing, you can do it yourself and get your kids to help, even if you think that you are not good at art, you can do squares, circles, triangles or even just lines, and if you don’t like it you can just paint over it.” She said.
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Hide AdOlwen, whose house is filled with her artwork describes it like living in a gallery surrounded by a sea of angels and colour is not finished with her outdoor art as she has several other projects in the pipeline.
Olwen added: “I’m almost ready to start on a family members garage and the back wall of my local shop, I have looked at the wall a few times and there is a wire that runs along the middle, I just let my imagination run wild and thought why don’t I turn the wire into bunting.
“I don’t try to paint, I allow what wants to happen, I just let it pop into my head. All the work that I have done is random joyous events that inspires me, and hopefully will inspire others.”
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