I just bought Violet! I’m so excited – my very first non-commercial art acquisition. This painting is part of Charmaine Olivia’s new collection called Muses and the exhibition was held in San Fransisco earlier this month. Unfortunately I was not able to attend but Charmaine now offers limited edition prints on her website for worldwide fans.

I have to admit I am a very recent painting enthusiast and I owe it all to Charmaine. I discovered her on Facebook last summer and I immediately fell in love with this painting titled Kudra. It seemed it was a departure from her earlier, more stylized and monotone work, and I was instantly hooked. I love the explosions of color!

Luckily for me, Kudra marked the beginning of Charmaine’s new direction and I have watched in awe for the past 8 months as she has been working on her Muses collection, posting nearly daily photo updates from her magical studio. Not only is Charmaine an incredibly talented artist, she also has the best promotional presence I have ever seen online. Her website is clean and beautiful; her art taking center stage without losing that warm and human touch. She is active on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and interacts with her fans. In essence, she comes across as a work of art herself; she is beautiful and fairy-like, her life in San Fransisco is sunny and full of endless inspiration. I don’t think I’m the only one who has picked up a paint brush for the first time in 10+ years after discovering Charmaine.

Muses is a collection that celebrates female beauty and is described by Charmaine as: “Each painting was inspired by an image of a woman with a certain look, a soft quality or expression that drew me to her. Some emotion that resonated within me that I wanted to reflect back.” Most of the women are inspired by some of the world’s most photographed women, from Rihanna to several Victoria’s Secret models but to me, the soft, fluid brush strokes somehow makes them even more beautiful than they already are in pictures. I had no idea painting could reach that level of depth until I saw Charmaine’s paintings.

I love how unafraid she is to share so much of her process, of the tiny details that make up the whole. Who knew painting could be so sexy?!

This is the most recent work she posted and already you can see that she has evolved, moving in new, more abstract directions. I really admire that. It would be difficult to move on from such a successfully received collection and enter uncharted territory. It’s been a while since I’ve come across a true artist in every sense of the word, and I’m honored to be part of her journey.

All photos © Charmaine Olivia. Visit her website at CharmaineOlivia.com