My Heart and Soul on Canvas…
The rumble of thunder wakes me. 2am. Our small state is burdened by rain, again. Each day flood warnings headline the forecast. Sunshine once did. I wander around our darkened quiet home while lightening brightens the night.
Paintings fill our living room. The new room. Thirty paintings to be delivered in just a day or two. A local Vermont gallery will feature them. I have enjoyed having them in view. I take a certain comfort with being surrounded by my work albeit my studio, my living room, or a gallery. I understand the hours and hours of work…
A year’s work. More accurately a lifetime of learning, erring, and executing. Rinse and repeat. Failing, and unrelentingly trying again and again. And again. There has been no shortage of hard work. I strive each day to push to a new level in my work. Understanding that my artistic voice is as unique to me as my crazy hair. I can’t deny it just need to embrace it. I look at each painting and remember working on all the particulars. The small moments that brought the painting together. Struggling with some aspects and elated when a painting came to life.
Figurative art evokes a certain sensibility in me. The years of studying from the figure are in each dancer’s portrait. Portraits that tell a story. The off moments. Reflection.
“A work of art which did not begin in emotion is not art.” –Paul Cezanne
A curious life yet fulfilling in the most fundamental way. Art as a profession often feels more like the business of rejection. Putting one’s heart and soul on a canvas is no small thing. Allowing others to enter your world is “brave” told to me by my dear niece. Driven certainly I am but brave? Not always.
“Creativity takes courage.” –Henri Matisse
Two artists will be sharing the many gallery walls. To be one of the two is an honor. Thrilling to me. The work is done. Paintings are wired and framed. The administrative details of art also completed. I wasn’t always sure I would be ready but ready I am…
“Art is not what you see, but what you make others see.” –Edgar Degas
