Thursday, April 13, 2023
Welcome back to Art Thursdays of my B.R.E.A.T.H.S. blog where I invite you into Brainerd’s Brushstrokes and Photography studio. This is a space where I share my artistic right-brained side which is a nice balance from my research-loving left-brain. For the four weeks this April, I will be posting about my artistic inspirations. Last week, I shared some of my favorite inspirational artists. This second week, I am sharing two cities that inspire me to paint a series, Long Beach, California, and Paris, France.
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Long Beach, California Paintings
In January 2013, I started doing social paintings with my friends at Brushstrokes and Beverages located in downtown Long Beach, CA. At least once a month for five years, I would attend one of their paint and sip parties they held in multiple restaurant locations and some in their art studio downtown. On August 15, 2016, I painted my first Long Beach painting, “Summertime in LBC,” at Linden Public Restaurant. On my walk home passing a bar, there was a guy traveling to Long Beach who asked to buy my painting as a souvenir, so I sold him my painting for a beer and a few bucks. The next day, I was painting at Alegria Restaurant, and decided I would recreate a similar painting, but included a rainbow-style sunset to reflect the LGBTQ+ presence in Long Beach.
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Paris, France Paintings
Although I have never been to Paris, that is one of the most inspirational cities I aspire to visit soon! My first Paris painting I created on November 20, 2013 at District Wine in Long Beach called, “#AbstractParisStamp.” My second painting called, “Moonlit Paris,” was done on April 20, 2015 at Sip restaurant in the Renaissance Long Beach Hotel. The third Paris painting I completed in Long Beach on August 8, 2015, was at Alegria Cocina Latina called, “Pastel Sunset in Paris.”
Conclusion on Inspirational Cities Series
While I have several art pieces of cities, there are two cities that have inspired multiple paintings, Long Beach, California, and Paris, France. I lived in Long beach for eight years and fell in love with the art, culture, and of course the beach. I have not traveled to Europe yet, but the first city I would like to visit is the romantic and stunning Paris, France. While I am there, I plan to sit in front of the Eiffel Tower and paint a picture for myself as a souvenir. I have given away most of my paintings, sold a handful, and kept a couple for myself, so it will be nice to have one I painted to keep as a special token of my traveling experience.
Thank you for reading and viewing,
Dr. Jaime Brainerd, E.d.D.
Thanks for sharing! Good luck in the UBC!
Jaime, your article brought back some pleasant memories. I lived and attended fashion design school in Long Beach, California, many moons ago, when I too decided to cater to my right-brain to balance my left-brain research-loving side. Although I’ve visited France twice, i’ve never visited the Eiffel Tower. It’s on my bucket list. Thanks for the memories.
You picked two very paint-worthy cities, that’s for sure. Now I want to hop on the next plane…
Your paintings are beautiful! Does painting relax you?