This art might feel different depending on what’s going on in the world and in your life when you view it. Today it feels (to me) like the title of this post, “peace in sadness”. I’m not sure how to put into words what I mean by this, but I’ll try. When too exhausted to maintain anger and anxiety, when too weary to be passionately hopeful, and too much time has passed for a trial to be resolved before harm is done, all that remains is a sad sort of peace that settles in when there’s nothing left to do but accept what is.
May we be protected like this lion protects the lamb. Resting inside a cave shelter while waters rush by, we wait out the storms of this world. God bless you and keep you, this day and always.
I uploaded this painting video to YouTube today and I struggled to come up with the words to put into the description. What started off as a simple project idea turned into a story of loss and healing. My grief journey began when I was a child, but when Mom died, it felt like I lost Dad all over again because she was the one who kept his memory alive.
But it has been several years now since she passed, and now my journey has me on a path where I’m hopeful and focused on the new roads ahead. Every now and then, though, my spirit needs a retreat to the cabin in the woods. Here is what I wrote for the YouTube video description:
What does this painting mean to you? Art is a language and it speaks to you however you want. This is what it means to me: When I painted this, the project goal was to paint from my imagination (no reference or plan) and paint however the emotions and inspiration leads. My thoughts were of a cabin in the woods, a peaceful and restful space, a spiritual escape from the stresses, chaos, and darkness of this world. But as I painted, I found myself lost in the scene with additions that changed the story. The empty rocking chair and the cardinal in the tree- the chair reminded me of Mom. Her chair is empty and her tea is abandoned, as she left it. The cardinal is Dad’s spirit, who died almost 25 years before her, when he was 37 years old. This space holds the spirits of loved ones who’ve left this world, yet they live on where time and physical distance has no meaning. When the burdens of this world are too much, let our minds escape to this cabin in the woods, where peace is forever standing still, and we are forever loved. But let’s not linger there too long. We are blessed to be alive. We have so much left to do. I have hundreds more paintings to reach my 1k finished oil paintings goal. We all have a destiny, a purpose, and reason to be here.
See oil painting “Dove in a Forest” come alive in less than 2 minutes (time lapse)
This is one of my earlier paintings. It remains a favorite for some of you. I’ve worked hard today and I’m tired- are you? This art expresses how I feel at the moment: subdued, yet expectant (hopeful), quietly confident (letting nature and time take its course, faithful), and peaceful.
My work on the show is wrapping up. It will be delivered on schedule. My goal is to launch it several days before Christmas to give you time to share it with your family and friends. Until the show is finished, I’ll be putting in long days. It will all be worth it and I hope you enjoy the show!
Did you have a restful Sunday? I hope that today you took time to reflect on the week ahead, and you’ve made productive, creative, and hopeful plans. Even if your plan is something simple, like spending 15 minutes outside each day, may you do what your heart tells you to do. God bless you and your family.
Before I show you the surprise, watch this hummingbird oil painting come to life in 1 minute (time lapse). This is inspired by our real life feeder on the patio, and this is one of the types of hummingbird friends who visit us… that’s a clue for what I’m about to surprise you with…
but first, see the real life inspiration for my painting in action in this 24 second video I took…
So, now you know that the hummingbird looks like… and I can share what happened. My daughter bought me a new phone that has an AMAZING camera (thank you, thank you, thank you!). I wanted to try out the camera and wouldn’t you know it, yesterday there was a rainbow… and a second lighter arc appeared… a double rainbow! Some people say that they have never seen a double rainbow, others say that they are rare, but they seem to follow me wherever I go. Anyway….
I was taking pictures of the double rainbow when a hummingbird flew into the shot! He “photo-bombed” my pictures and it was BREATHTAKING! I couldn’t believe how my new camera caught his flight and I could zoom in and crop it to a detailed picture of his flight path. I put a short film together, and next I will post the photos separately so you can see them more clearly.
I hope you enjoy your surprise. This really is something very special! When you see this, don’t you feel that this world still has very wonderful and hopeful things?
Watch me paint “Blue Heron” in under 1 minute (time lapse)
He’s back! If you’ve been following me for a while, you might remember this story:
“Astrikingly beautiful blue heron appeared at the lagoon one day. I quickly took its picture to paint later. This is a different style from how I usually paint. It looks like a watercolor because I was trying to get away with using cheap paints that turned out to be watery and hard to work with. This was a happy accident, because the watercolor-like effect captured the mood.
He has only made one more appearance that I know of, but I hope he will return next spring. On the day he arrived, he just happened to be standing at the water’s edge when the light reflected the colors of the trees in a streaky wave of color. He was all alone, with no other birds or creatures in sight, which only added to his mysterious presence.” – from book “50 Oil Paintings Inspired by Savannah, Georgia” by artist Natalie Buske Thomas
He has since come back a few times. He has a quiet presence, but somehow we become aware of him. His energy is so peaceful. It inspires a hopeful feeling, as if good things are soon to come.
