Sometimes a painting picks us. Contrast and tension in artwork inspire me. Here’s a peek into the making of this composition and the comfort of a steady God during difficult times… to read on…
I wanted a complimentary color scheme (greenish gray and red) as complimentary colors provide the most contrast and pop in a composition. When I finished the painting, I noticed several life issues were making their way out onto the canvas.
I got a new stencil set, so I went joyfully crazy with them. I got a new rose gold spray paint that turned out more dull-brown than bright and metallic like I hoped it would. I thought I ruined the painting with many mistakes. Layer upon layer this painting was built as I tried to recover it. I started with fluid acrylics, then moved into glazing. Then I mixed varied colors of opaque acrylics so there would be different values. I wanted to keep movement alive, so I added more stenciled lines in the middle ground. It felt too sad, dark and dull so I kept adding dashes and splashes of color. Then I topped it off with oil paint in certain parts of the picture for added interest and highlights.
Additionally, I added more light in the upper right corner for the light source. I added a horizontal line of that light source at the bottom of the vase near the shadow Done. Fini! I am pleased with it but it has a lot of feeling, tension, and undergirding behind in it.
While I was painting, several things were going on in my heart. A relative took a turn with cancer and quickly passed away. Someone I know committed suicide. Some close friends and mentors moved and have shifted their community some. Another close friend and her family moved to a different state. Summer is ending and school is starting. As I reflect, endings and beginnings seem to be a theme.
For many years I stuffed issues like sadness, change and fear and ran to food, sugar, exercise addiction and excessive busyness. Tools throughout the years have helped me. When dealing with our feelings we can notice them (snapping at someone, frustration building, getting “bumped” by others), name them (mad, glad, sad, anxious, fear…) and invite Jesus into them to help us and process how they are affecting us and others. Feelings are not the truest thing about us but they can serve as indicators and red flags to pay attention and attend to them. This results in being more emotionally healthy. Peter Scazzero shares, “Our feelings are a component of what it means to be made in the image of God. To cut them out of our spirituality is to slice off an essential part of our humanity.”
There are bending and vertical lines falling from the rose showing the drooping and weight but the light at the bottom with the sunlight peering through shows the REBOUND. Also, there is a depiction of flower petals that have dropped to the right of the vase along with one bright red mark/petal that sits on top of that light line. These point to the steady hands of God through difficult times…. He is the hope and peace that awaits when we acknowledge and sit in sorrow to process it healthily. The pops of red color show we can return to places of joy (and things that are life-giving) even when our hearts are weighted down. This is a gift from God…and a fruit of The Holy Spirit.
John 16:33
I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.
Sometimes we don’t pick paintings, but they pick us.
Reflection:
Did anything from this painting pick you that you can relate to?
What do you run to (or used to run to) and what changes can be made for you to be healthier?
How can you be/live in the moment today?
CREATE L'amour! 