Infatuation – a quick flicker, a burst of cold fireworks. Lot’s of smoke in the end.

The dominant hues in this painting are blue, neon green, and pink. Lots of ambient light and an illusion of a rich 3D-texture.

This digital artwork is available in acrylic print, canvas print, framed print, art print, or greeting card. Click here to select size and format.

See more art here.

I have always been partial to blue hues, but only to a certain part of the spectrum. I prefer the cool shades of the color, washed out and grayed out Baltic Sea after the storm or unsaturated values of the morning sky.

This digital artwork is available in acrylic print, canvas print, framed print, art print, or greeting card. Click here to select size and format.

See more art here.

Shedding – old feathers fall away with old fears. To me art making is often about overcoming my own fears and reaching the inner sanctuary where I can be unconstrained by the expectations of my critics and freed from the old stifling patterns. It’s also about letting go of the past and creating new and unimagined before reality. I’ve heard a friend once say that before the flow there must be an ebb.

This digital artwork is available in acrylic print, canvas print, framed print, art print, or greeting card. Click here to select size and format.

See more art here.

Here is another one of my digital paintings. When describing the technique I used to create it, I like to say that I worked with digital paint. I created the image with computer software, but wanted to preserve an organic and natural feel, so I mimicked the properties of acrylic and watercolor paints.

This artwork is available in acrylic print, canvas print, framed print, art print, or greeting card. Click here to select size and format.

And here is a poem I wrote a few years ago which I associate with this painting.

Adrift

Thousands of tears mingle
In the ocean of forgetfulness
All cares drown
In slow motion
Slower still
Be still
Let me float
Adrift

©2008 Dosia McKay
More poetry here.

I painted this piece utilizing fractal algorithms. I love it when science and art come together to create something premeditated yet unique.

This digital artwork is available in acrylic print, canvas print, framed print, art print, or greeting card. Click here to select size and format.

Digital art available in acrylic print, canvas print, framed print, art print, or greeting card. Click here to select size and format.

Unfurling

Run, soul, run
For stillness be the death of you
Chase the sun
Fly

©2008 Dosia McKay

I think that art should push boundaries. I don’t like elevator music and I don’t like polite landscape paintings. I hope this one excites and energizes you as much as it does me!

Original abstract acrylic painting on stretched canvas. 24 x 36 x 0.75 in (61 x 91 x 2 cm) . Buy artwork

The dominant hues in this painting are red, orange, black, brown, yellow, gray, crimson. Visit my online gallery to view more original abstract and expressionist paintings.

Dosia McKay

I love the combination of different hues of blues and greens. To me they are soothing, cooling, and calming.

Original abstract acrylic painting on stretched canvas. 24 x 36 x 0.75 in (61 x 91 x 2 cm) . Buy artwork

The dominant hues in this painting are blue, aqua, green, black, navy, kiwi, pistachio. Visit my online gallery to view more original abstract and expressionist paintings.

Dosia McKay

I am experimenting more with fully saturated colors and blending. I truly enjoyed exploring a more energetic, extroverted composition.

Original abstract acrylic painting on stretched canvas. 24 x 36 x 0.75 in (61 x 91 x 2 cm) . Buy artwork

The dominant hues in this painting are blue, aqua, red, orange, yellow, and purple. Visit my online gallery to view more original abstract and expressionist paintings.

Dosia McKay

Below I list 25 simple exercises to trigger the flow of your creativity. Whether you are a painter, a writer, an actor, a choreographer, a filmmaker, or a musician, you will benefit from performing them on regular basis. You can also modify them to fit your art discipline, or to purposefully stray away from it. Nothing is set in stone. What matters is that you begin, and that you pursue your creative instincts and enter “the zone”.

It is beyond the scope of this article, but I hope it is obvious that any serious artist understands the importance of adequate sleep, nutrition, moderation in the TV and internet intake, as well as avoidance of people who belittle your creative endeavors.

With that said, let us begin:

1. During breakfast, sit at a different spot you usually do, observing the newly found perspective.

2. Notice certain words or phrases you use often and make a conscious effort to refrain from using them when you speak or write. Instead, find new, fresh ways of expressing yourself.

3. Choose an art form you don’t know anything about. Within it, choose a specific technical aspect. Google it out and learn from it something you can apply to your own art discipline.

4. On iTunes or Amazon perform a search for a random combination of letters. Accept the artist suggestion from the search engine and listen to the artist’s music, no matter what the genre.

5. On a piece of paper prepare a simple sketch or a doodle, dividing the page in half. Let one half express the concept of “Always”, and the other of “Never”.

6. Listen to people’s conversations on the sidewalk. Pick three different words from three separate conversations (one each). Write a poem containing all three words.

7. Go to the part of town you have never been to. Follow someone for a few blocks. Let him or her “show you around”.

8. Don’t eat when it’s time to eat. Wait until you are very hungry. Eat your food with pleasure, gratitude, and a full awareness of all flavors and textures.

9. Talk to someone you normally wouldn’t talk to and ask them open-ended questions. Listen intently to what they say, imagining what it would be like to be that person.

10. Carefully study an album of art reproductions – up side down, discovering interesting patterns and color combinations.

11. Buy a simple plastic travel soap dish/box. Never use it for soap, but instead invent a new purpose for it.

12. Imagine you were hired to design an airport. Prepare a list of unique features your design will be famous for.

13. Use different dishes. There is no need to buy new tableware, simply use a glass instead of a cup, or an ornamented spoon instead of a plain one.

14. Listen to the noises of electrical appliances, trains, wind, or animals. Try to notate their rhythmical patterns. If you don’t know musical notation, invent your own.

15. Choose a stranger from your environment. Imagine what it would feel like to deeply care about that person. Then imagine what it would feel like to despise him/her. Switch back to the caring mode and analyze what triggered the extreme emotions.

16. Make a birthday or “just because” card for yourself – completely from scratch. Don’t take shortcuts with doodles or notebook paper. We are talking about a card folded in half with pictures and words.

17. When someone casually asks for your opinion, respond by giving them exactly the opposite of what you feel and be earnest and convincing.

18. Choose two small random cities on two different continents. Research the best means of travel between them and find out how much it would cost.

19. Attend a religious service of a denomination / religion / faith different from yours. Relish in the feeling of strangeness and mystery.

20. Smell the wind from the river, the fruit on the fruit stand, and the flowers in the flower shop. Touch the bark of the trees, the blades of swooshing tall grass, and a patch of moss on the sidewalk.

21. When you travel alone and a stranger asks about the purpose of your trip or your occupation, make up a story on the spot. Go into details.

22. With your iPod set to orchestral music, conduct an imaginary orchestra with a made-up baton or improvise a dance.

23. Hand write a letter to your younger or your older self.

24. Check into a silent monastery. Well, not really. Simply tell your family and friends that you are working on a project and cannot be disturbed. Continue with your usual activities, but give up all communication via phone, internet, or in person. Fast from TV, radio, iPod, etc.

25. Unexpectedly change your mind in the middle of a routine. Get off the train, walk out of the movie theater, or order food you can’t pronounce.

Let me know about your experiments and creative ideas that resulted from these exercises. I am curious to know what worked for you.

©2012 Dosia McKay

Commissioning artwork is an exciting and rewarding process in which the patron and the artist join together in creating a one-of-a-kind piece of art.

Please e-mail me with your ideas and budget. I will ask about the size of the painting, the color scheme, the mood, intensity, and the purpose. Even within these constraints, the abstract possibilities are endless. I hope you will be as excited as I am to see where the muse takes us.

Browse Gallery

I am experimenting a bit more with fluid acrylics and layering. This painting consists of multiple layers of shimmering metallic paint with a rich and varied 3-dimensional texture. Medium gloss professional finish. No need to frame, the painted canvas wraps around all sides. Ready to hang on your wall.

Color scheme: blue, aqua, green, red, orange, gray, gold, silver.

Original abstract acrylic painting on stretched canvas. 20 x 20 x 0.75 in (51 x 51 x 2 cm) . Buy artwork

Dosia McKay

Original abstract acrylic painting on stretched canvas. 20 x 24 x 0.75 in (50 x 61 x 2 cm). Buy artwork

The dominant hues in this painting are white, cream, gray, and black. Visit my online gallery to view more original abstract and expressionist paintings.

Dosia McKay

Original abstract acrylic painting on stretched canvas. 16 x 20 x 0.75 in (40 x 50 x 2 cm) . Buy artwork

The dominant hues in this painting are burgundy, red, salmon, green, and white. Multiple layers create a vibrant and energetic composition. Visit my online gallery to view more original abstract and expressionist paintings.

Dosia McKay

A new Ebay auction featuring my original painting – acrylics on stretched canvas. 26 x 20 x 0.75 in
(66 x 51 x 2 cm). Dominant colors: blue, aqua, silver, black. View listing

©2011 Dosia McKay

A new Ebay auction featuring my original painting – acrylics on stretched canvas. 24 x 36 x 0.75 in
(61 x 91 x 2 cm). View listing

©2010 Dosia McKay

Suddenly something caught my eye to the side of the stairs. It was the building adjacent to them. I had a direct access to the windows of the first floor and then the second, as I ascended, what now seemed like, a scaffolding. This was interesting. I looked at the arches of the window openings, the cornices, the connecting plates ornate with reliefs of animals and mythical figures. The wall of the building was covered with dirt, dust, and mold, but at the same time exuded certain elegance and stateliness. So much attention to detail and a good old-world craftsmanship.

And then I realized that the ornamentation could only be witnessed from this temporary scaffolding. If I were to walk on the street level, and even raise my head to look toward the second story, I would have never seen it!

Being an artist, and a practical one at that, I began to think about the artisans who created the reliefs. Were they proud that their work was featured on a prominent building in New York City? Were they aware that the pedestrians beneath would never see their artwork? What about the architect who designed the building? Why did he choose to ornament the higher floors if no one could really benefit from the design? Was it frivolous, superfluous, wasteful?

I choose to believe that it was neither. I think that true artists create out of love and respect of art itself. They pursue excellence and perfection in every detail not merely to receive accolades of the audience, but to fulfill an inner calling. The architect added the intricate ornaments to the façade on upper floors because only in this way the building would be whole. It wouldn’t make any difference to the pedestrians, or the occupants, but it would make every difference to the legacy of the designer.

I think about how our contemporary society urges us to immediately display everything of ourselves for the inspection of public opinion, and how dangerous it is for myself and my colleagues in creative fields to always feel the pressure that we must perform, prove, dazzle, entertain, justify, and monetize. Yes, I am very aware that money must be earned, bread must be put on the table, subscribers must be alerted, and investors must be reassured. Yet it is wonderfully refreshing to stumble from time to time on a hidden, unassuming gem that gives meaning and inspiration to a narrow circle of friends, one person, or perhaps only ourselves.

©2011 Dosia McKay

Original abstract acrylic painting on stretched canvas. 24 x 36 x 0.75 in (60 x 91 x 2 cm). Buy artwork

The dominant hues in this painting are aqua blue, beige, sand, and brown. Multiple layers create a 3-dimensional imaginary landscape of vivid and vibrant colors. Visit my online gallery to view more original abstract and expressionist paintings.

Dosia McKay

Sun’s Trail – this is my last giclee available for sale. Life, fire, energy, harmony.

Digital art available in acrylic print, canvas print, framed print, art print, or greeting card. Click here to select size and format.

©2007 Dosia McKay