“SURRENDERED” …. MORE THAN JUST A PAINTING

Today started out as any studio day might.  I wrote in my Reflections journal before getting started preparing for a demo that I’ll be giving at Opus Art Supply in Langley.  I mixed up some texture medium & grabbed a primed canvas.  I was taking notes because I will want to be able to explain how I got from A to B when doing the demonstration.  After the first few steps, I was quite pleased with the painting’s start, so I set it aside and began a new canvas to prepare Step 2 of the demo.

Mixed texture for demo

The subject of my demo at Opus is “Intuitive painting – with (or without) texture”. Before I knew it, my demo-preparation time turned into one of the most intuitive painting sessions I have ever had!

Any time I am creating a painting, I am in constant dialogue with myself & the painting…….prayer & meditation are as much a part of my process as the actual brushstrokes or palette knife markings.  Recently my thoughts have been centered around the balance between painting intuitively vs. painting intentionally.  Both of these are very important in my process.  The dance between intuition and intention is a mystery, and I don’t expect I’ll ever fully comprehend it.  It’s a very delicate balance that words can’t clearly define.

A successful painting has just the right amount of both, and the more sensitive I become to honouring that balance, the more masterful my paintings become.

What was intended to be “Step 2” for my demo became a piece I felt I inspired to donate to the Women’s Ministry event that was occurring at our church that night.  I named the painting “Surrender”, as my experience in painting it was one of utter &  complete surrender.  I found myself still in my housecoat at 4pm, working on this piece and feeling excited about donating it to a special event.  I barely had time to shower & get ready for the evening ahead (our guest speaker, singer & comedian was  Kelita Haverland……a very gifted & inspiring woman who is also one of my dearest friends

I wrapped “Surrender” up very carefully as it was still tacky.  Here is a photo of the painting taken on my easel that afternoon:

The gift of creating this painting was as much a gift to me, the artist, as I hope it is to the person who received it.