 Sometimes I paint things that "don't make any sense". Meaning: they aren't representative of my usual style, and they look like they don't belong in any of my previous collections. I remind myself that to "indulge my creative urges" and "paint my feelings" is a good thing. Even if my painting looks like it might have been made by someone else. This is exactly how I feel today: Eager to jump "Into The Waves". To be enveloped, carried and cleansed. These are difficult, challenging times. How do we channel our fears and anxieties of an uncertain future in a way that is positive vs negative? Painting is a tool that helps me transmute my emotions. It's an anchor of sorts.  In the United States, Black Friday is one of the biggest shopping days of the year (Boxing Day in Canada). Many people will spend hours searching for discounted prices on their favorite products. Although I am not immune to the desire to make my life more comfortable by acquiring things, today in particular makes me think about what I am ordering from the Universe.  “There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all of time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and it will be lost. The world will not have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is nor how valuable nor how it compares with other expressions. It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly, to keep the channel open. No artist is pleased. There is no satisfaction. There is only a queer divine dissatisfaction, a blessed unrest that keeps us marching and makes us more alive than others." Martha Graham
 I used to think that resilience meant to be steadfast, rigid and immovable. What I've come to understand is that resilience is much more fluid. Being able to ebb, flow and adapt to the rapidly changing circumstances all around us. This is true strength. This is true resilience. Announcing a new series of paintings called "Practicing Eternity" on view at 15th Street Gallery |