New Painting

It’s been quite awhile since I’ve painted something I actually like. See, when I had my daughter three years ago, I went on a hiatus from making art. I put all of my art supplies away, in order to prepare for the new bundle in my life. The desire to paint (or create in general) hasn’t gone away however. In fact, I have experienced such a longing to create, that it was beginning to overwhelm me. I had every excuse in the book. No time. No babysitter. Too many chores needing to be done, etc. But the call to paint would not go away. And so I began, very humbly, to try and put paint on the canvas once again. My first effort was so horrible…I hated it immediately. I grew more and more frustrated while painting it, and just wanted to get it over with. I will spare you the image of this first painting. It looked nothing like what I wanted to express.

However, I have since learned that painting is a metaphor for life (thank you Flora Bowley), and I am now aware that I can learn lessons from the creative process that I can apply to my life. (I also sleep much better after painting). In the midst of that first painting I had to remind myself that I paint because I enjoy the process, the quieting of my mind, and the expression of my soul-not because I want to hurry up and “get it done.” And so, I took a deep breath and connected back to my heart, and actually enjoyed the rest of that painting. I learned that new beginnings may be awkward, yet courageous. I had to get that first painting out, in order to move on to the next layer of experimentation. And with the next painting, I found it much easier to stay positive and talk myself though the process. And so, I bring you painting #2 (I wouldn’t dare show #1)….this one I actually sort of like.

**My process on this painting was to divide the canvas in four parts and paint each part separately until they all came together. I began with the moon, then the tree, the flowers, and finally the mountains. The river appeared as a way to join them all together. I painted this with acrylics and used metallic ink detail at the end**