The story behind the brush...

Formerly known as “Guide My Brush,” my art practice consists of creating original and commissioned art that pairs elements of nature and abstraction with the dynamic human experiences of connection, heartbreak, love, grief, and wonder.

Art has been woven into the fabric of my life from as early as when I could hold a pencil and brush. My home and childhood were filled with creativity and self-expression that fueled my artistic freedom from day one. My intrinsic drive to create made it possible to express the wonders of childhood, the woes of angsty adolescence, the complex pain of familial mental illness, the complications of deep-seeded and problematic faith systems, the all-consuming thrill of falling in love, the transformative years of independence as a college art student, and the heaviness of walking with a parent through cancer.

Then, committing to a lifelong partnership with my husband, followed by a painful and beautiful deconstruction of belief systems that no longer supported the weight of my life, only continued to deepen the necessity of setting my inner world free onto canvas. I was coming alive to the realities of ever-present social justice and human rights issues and I also soon began to experience many discoveries and developments in my own mental health journey through therapy and much inner work. As close relationships began to evolve in sometimes painful but healthy ways and I found unforeseen levels of depth, healing, and security in my marriage, my art practice deepened to new levels of authenticity and truth, as well.

In the winter, my husband and I discovered we were creating something more than art and new depths of love for one another - we were, in fact, growing a baby. As we prepare to welcome our little one in October of 2021, I have the astounding opportunity of creating art while life itself is being created within me. To say that it is incredible falls wildly short of the profound and divine experience that it truly is.

As I continue striving to create art that encompasses both the power of nature and the complexities of the human existence, my practice embraces the light and darkness of life and the love and beauty that surrounds these experiences. The work aims to embrace the transformative pain, beauty, heartache, healing, struggle and prosperity that can be embraced, explored, and learned from in our human experience.

Olivia Rae Alexander.