Through painting we can tell stories. I really enjoy this aspect of my work. I have no idea what story will be told until I’m finished the piece. Then I realize that what I am seeing will not be seen by others the same way and that they may see something completely different….like an ink blot test….when you’re in therapy. This painting was an experiment for me…as they all are. I’m in love with colour and I’m in love with the idea of painting from the subconscious without using too much of the mind chatter that we all have. I started out with some charcoal and sketched out the forms and the face and then dove in with acrylics to block everything out. Then I began to go in and add some dots and swirls. It was a one day experience of fun and frivolity. I know it looks naive but that’s what I love about it so much. Aren’t we all just kids at heart anyway? Why does art have to be so serious? I like to look at paintings that make me feel happy inside. Art that makes me feel something, just as long as it’s not too scary LOL! My most favourite artists of the past and the present are artists that have a lot of whimsy in what they do. I don’t think there’s enough whimsy in our lives these days. Life can be so serious. Sometimes it’s nice to just turn off the news, turn off the TV all together. One of my daughters tells me there’s a big move towards people listening to podcasts. That reminds me of the old days when my husband and I would listen to a radio station late on a Sunday night that played old crime shows from the early days of radio. We would lay in the dark and listen to the story with all the sound effects and the voice actors and really enjoy it. Those were the days before there were a ton of channels on cable and constant flashing images in your face and everyone walking around with a phone in their hands with their heads bent down.
We’re all just being sold things really 24 seven. Sold how to look, what to eat, what to think. Taking a day like I did to paint this painting is like being on vacation from modern life. A vacation from the noise. A vacation from the mind chatter. A chance to tell my own story!
Bird Cat Fish