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Saturday, June 11, 2011

I almost forgot this one...

This painting was on of my early projects, and I actually thought I had posted it to either the web page or the blog, but apparently I didn't. Here it is. It is called Peony.

This painting and one other are on display at Sadie's of Stokesdale(formerly Sadie Scarecrow's Herbal Garden). Stop by and take a peek at the 'all new' Sadie's!



This was so much fun to paint. It was pure joy, and I hope you can see that in the painting. I find complete relaxation when I paint....

This may not make sense, but....



This is my 'Echinacea Butterfly' halfway done...



This is my completed 'Echinacea Butterfly' finished...Yes, the canvas is an oval, and that shows in the completed photograph. I have painted the edges so that a frame is not necessary.

Suze Orman says, quite accurately, that women are more relational than men. A woman cannot do well with anything in her life, unless she has a relationship with it. While Suze is talking about women and money, I think this idea is important. How many things do you have in your life, and how many of these things do you see in terms of relationship?

For me, one of these things is my artwork. I have never considered that I have a relationship with it, nor have I felt that having a relationship with my art is important. I have always considered my art to be an extension of myself, the "self" within. When I post my work online I often feel vulnerable, as though I have exposed something that should be kept covered up and private. It feels as though I am baring my soul for the world to see. Perhaps that is true, but there are other forces at work here too.

If you were to ask me if I had a relationship with my art, I'd have thought for a moment and felt, in a vague way, that it was a relationship of sorts, but a contentious one.

Sometimes unexpectedly when working in my attic on a painting I experience something unexplanable when working on a painting-this happened with my current piece of work. I realized, quite suddenly, that this is more than an extension of the self. I suddenly understood that I have to build a relationship with this activity. I have to love it unconditionally, appreciate it, build on it, trust it, believe in it, nurture it, as I would any important relationship in my life. Then, and only then, am going to be able to relate to it as intimately.

The brass tacks of painting will never be the same for me. I have a profoundly intimate relationship with something of beauty and delicate substance, if I chose to honor it with my love. And I do.