Laying down the basics and keeping things simple. That is an easy model for me to begin my painting and then allow what transpires to take me where it wants to go. I follow.
This process is helpful because when things go awry and get complicated my creativity is blocked and I believe I am stuck and unable to move forward.
I find it’s rather like life, mine anyway. I like to lead a simple life but at times it can get complicated or I can run ahead of myself. It’s then I need to get back to the process of step by step even if I have to create it.
One of the items I brought along in my paint pack on my Arizona holiday were several strips of colored rice paper.
An idea I’ve used before and decided to try again thanks to an artist who taught me is to apply various products to the painting like string, sand, leaves, buttons, lace, etc – anything to give a lift, depth, dimension and excitement.
In a couple of my past favorite paintings I did use sand and bits of bark for logs for a particular beach scene – I loved those finished pieces and so did others because they bought them.
It’s rather an honor knowing someone liked the process I went through, learning, being challenged, growing, changing then ending up with a satisfactory and pleasing finish.
It’s like this in friendships, love, work and play, giving and serving others. If I remain open to be taught, to grow, change and flex perhaps in the end of days I’d like to think it will be a satisfactory and pleasing finish.
In this part of the picture below I began sticking wet rice paper onto the canvas and scrunching it to shape the hills and mountains in the background and rocks in the foreground. In letting the shapes direct me I followed the shoreline with my fingers.
In some spots I had to pick off paper and in others add more to make the dips, shapes and jagged rocks appear or disappear.
Reflection keeps popping up as I compare the shaping of my life to the shaping of a painting.
How it will be in the end is yet to be discovered.
Midnight Meanderings
Turns out I’m working again.
The photo above was taken while on a missions trip to Mexico in 2005. My husband Ross and I were with a team of approx 50 people and it was a whirlwind of activity. Since then I ended up in the same location several more times. I love the photo, the memories it stirs up of fun, sun, closeness, companionship, love, grief, sadness for others, shared experience and hardship.
It all added up to joy. Serving. Giving.
I’ve been in the restless stage of life, at least for me it is restless. I am seeking to link in a lot of loose ends of my life such as writing, painting (art/creativity), volunteering with Freedom Session – a 12 step faith based healing/discipleship/recovery ministry, keep growing as a woman – education/new job/new activities, etc….and then call it all a career.
Perhaps I simply need to call it my life.
But, here I am, past midnight getting all excited about so many possibilities of things to do (though by 7 tomorrow morning all I will want to do is hop into my bed) However, in all the planning (thinking) I’ve discovered there are a couple significant events taking place this year.
This year we will mark our 34th wedding anniversary…
This year I will turn 60…
This is amazing to me because I seem unable to relate to that fact. I just got used to saying I was 50, then admitting I was 55 and now suddenly 4 more years have passed me by. Then to top it off, I’ve been married nearly 34 years – how does that happen?
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