Are you afraid of the dark? Me too. Aren't we all? when we can't see well enough to know and trust what's happening, we go to fear.
Even though there is an unmistakable darkness in my latest work, don't let it haunt you. The depth of these darks are only highlighting the glowing Light. The deeper I paint, the more prominent the light; both the source from which it comes and the areas of which it touches. There's even something romantic about this depth. This palette has an old world vibe- this depth of color is as old as time. I also get a sense of boldness here-rebellion kinda like when I dyed my blonde hair dark and purple in college. Just when y'all thought you had me pinned as the rainbows and sunshine artist, here I am painting stormy dark skies. "Keep em on they toes" is what I like to say. That is what gets noticed, after all!
My art comes *to me* though, not the other way around. I didn't decide to paint this way in order to get noticed or to convey these concepts. It came *through* me so that I would. And I can see that this art came to speak about the ever presence of Light. The titles of these are "Watering" and "Weathering". But as I approach their completion, the narrative points not just to the storm but to *where and how* we endure storms- even more specificall- where and how we experience the storms. The point of view in these paintings is from a high, dry place. Here, in the safe distance, we can see the storm's composition. From the outside, we can see the light that's just beyond its heavy, watery clouds, as well as the light within the clouds. We see the strength and power of light. Here on this rock, we feel a sense of protection, even as we witness a storm before our very eyes, we're able to see how the light is ever present and powerful.
I believe this is a call for the cultivation of the rock; the homes we build- whether physical or figurative- whether you allow that to refer to where you dwell or what you dwell on- the strength of our rock is what allows us to endure the rain and wind with trust in and reverence for an ever present Light- even when it's hard to perceive.