This painting was inspired by both a drawing from one of my many sketches of figures I’ve done and from an orchid plant that I got as a gift. It was painted on a canvas panel in watercolor. I transferred the drawing of the nude, sat with it while it stood on my easel for a few days, and waited for her to “speak to me”. Maybe what I really wanted was an idea, a map, anything that break through my inability to know what to do next.
I know that when I use my intuition, just allow myself to play, one inspiring thought leads to another, but, sometimes, it’s hard to get that first stroke of paint down.
This quote summarizes what I always want to achieve in a painting.
“The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inner significance.
Aristotle
But it was this quote that helped me to finally pick up the brush and begin to paint.
“There is nothing more truly artistic than to love people.”
Vincent Van Gogh
Allowing Love to guide this painting truly opened myself to receiving the ideas and inspiration that seemed to come easily and effortlessly. I also got to experience, once again, the feeling of being “One” with the painting, something that has eluded me for awhile. I realize now that, when I’m feeling any other emotion other than Love while I paint, I distance myself from what I’m working on, which causes the painting to miss out on what could be. Instead of painting what I see, with Love pointing the way, my creativity has the freedom to see beyond the limits of what the eye can focus on. That opens the door to imagination, which is the child in each of us coming out to play.
I so thoroughly enjoyed painting this. It was a pivotal painting for me in that I finally felt “at home” with what I was doing. I’ve finally given myself permission to be Who I Am, instead of trying to “do” something to impress others. I’m doing what I love doing, and, in return, what I’m doing is returning the love.
I’ve already started my next painting. It’s another based on another sketch of a woman and it’s based on a different premise from this one. But, of course, that would be the case, since this figure I’m doing now is sharing who she is and she’s not the same as this woman. She’s unique, just like all of us are.
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