The Inked Optimist - mixed media on canvas - 101cm squ / 40" squ

The Inked Optimist By George Hall, acrylic metallic gold paint and mixed media on canvas, 101cm square.

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Shipping in Australia: Free Shipping, this artwork will be delivered ready to hang in a box.

International shipping: This artwork will be shipped rolled in a tube.
The rolled shipping price is calculated at cart.

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COMMISSION AN ARTWORK

"The Inked Optimist"

This work is a quiet celebration of gratitude. A personal landmark. Metallic gold and copper shine through its surface—symbols of resilience and renewal. The canvas is 101cm x 101cm x 3.5cm (40" x 40" x 1.18"), but the story it holds goes far beyond the edges.

At the beginning of 2019, I found myself in a tough place. I was tired. Frustrated. Losing patience with the world and slowly losing parts of myself in the process. I didn’t want to keep heading in that direction.

So I turned to something that has always helped me see more clearly: drawing. I began sketching over old magazines and newspapers—page after page of hearts. It became a kind of daily ritual. But after a while, I noticed that the words underneath the images clashed with what I was trying to create. The background headlines didn’t belong in the world I was trying to build.

So I started researching words—words that could hold something better. I built my own collection of positive language. Words that felt open, generous, optimistic. I printed them out and used them to create new backgrounds. And over those, I painted my evolving hearts.

I didn’t expect much from it, but something started to shift. Strangers smiled at me in the street. People began reaching out. The hearts I was posting on Instagram started to sell. What began as a way to steady myself became something much bigger.

I called the series The Optimist—because that’s what it gave back to me. And this particular piece, The Inked Optimist, carries that story. Not just the shift in my work, but the shift in me.

It’s a reminder that sometimes, when the world starts to wear you down, the best thing you can do is create your own version of it—and paint it into being.

Canvas Measurements: 101cm x 101cm x 3.5cm / 40" x 40" x 1.18"

This mixed media artwork is created with:
1. Graffiti Acrylic Pens
2. Metallic Gold Paint
3. Photographic Printing
4. Polymer Stain and Glaze
5. UV Protective Varnish

Floating Frames available in Tasmanian Oak or White or Black. Select from the drop down-menu. 2 weeks required for framing. Framing only available for orders in Australia.

This artwork is highlighted with metallic gold paint. Gold brings abundance, mental balance, and vitality. It helps learning and with the realization of self-potential. It will bring success, happiness, enthusiasm, and power. It will fill your life with comfort, kindness, and magic, making you more attuned to nature and the people around you. So being able to splash gold freely is a wonderful feeling of freedom.

This is a one of a kind artwork, there are no duplicates or prints, though there are others in this series, but they are all completely different from one another. It was created with acrylic graffiti paint pens, the background is a matte photographic print on canvas of the collage newsprint, made up of positive words and quotes, then stained with polymer glazes and finished with 3 coats of UV protective satin varnish, it will not fade in direct sunlight.

Signed on the lower right profile edge as well as a certificate of authenticity signed by myself.

*Stretched and ready to hang in a box for orders in Australia.
*For International orders this artwork will be shipped rolled in a tube.

Requires one week for satin finishing and UV protection.