Untitled V Painting

My recent flower series is inspired by the battle between memory and experience. Memories create the emotional triggers that inform the experience of the present moment. Looking deeply into my own life, I realized how powerful memories are in distorting the "now." Holding on to memories creates a weight of emotion and sentiment and with each flower I paint I am releasing a memory and inching closer into a powerful authentic moment. While creating this series, I found myself coming back to the same mantra: "I release the weight of the past to step into the lightness of the present." This series began as a way to let go of the ten years prior. I revisited and revised old work by repainting them again and again, slowly extracting my old story. Each painting represents a step towards freedom from the known and the cultivation of a new persona. I began painting with my left hand and transitioned from oil to acrylic, obliterating every connection with the past. With each brushstroke the past dissolved and revealed the present. My transformation was documented through the form of a flower and acknowledging the graceful dance of life. Carmelo Blandino was born to Sicilian parents in Tubingen, Germany, and grew up in the culturally charged city of Montreal, Quebec. He studied art and design at the local colleges and began a successful career as a freelance illustrator, working with architects, designers, and advertising agencies. In 2002 Blandino shifted his focus and indulged in the world of fine art. Today, his paintings are widely known for their immediacy and lascivious expressions of colour, movement, and shape. His work is exhibited in New York, Palm Beach, Naples, Stockholm, Calgary, Vancouver, Toronto and his beloved Montreal. He has conducted summer workshops at Von Liebig Art Center of Naples, Florida, and taught drawing for many years at Dawson College in Montreal before transplanting himself to Naples, Florida where he lives today. www.blandino.ca www.carmeloblandino.tumblr.com