Gratitude and vulnerability (a new painting from start to finish)

“I’m just so grateful, because to feel this vulnerable means I’m alive.” – Brene Brown 

This is a line from Brené Brown’s TED talk on the power of vulnerability. The talk is powerful in itself – listen if you haven’t yet.

I think about her work on vulnerability every now and then when I’m considering how to move forward with my art and my business.

One of her last points in the talk is that while letting ourselves be seen can be so incredibly difficult, remaining grateful through the fear can lead us to a kinder, more gentle place.

So today I’m putting her words into action as I lean into gratitude.

I listened to her talk again recently because I was feeling a bit insecure about my exploration into abstract painting. The fear-based thoughts were there (why bother? you don’t know how, who will like what you paint, etc), and I needed the reminder to just ride that wave of vulnerability through to the end to keep moving.

I’m so thankful! The response I’ve received so far to my first two abstract paintings has been heart-warming and so encouraging. It was the reminder that I needed that we should always take the chance to be truly seen, even when it feels scary. Let this be my gentle push for you as well. The world needs you! Get out there and share your heart.

And now, here’s the latest. I haven’t named this one yet, actually. Suggestions welcome!

I love this warmth and bright color! I used a combination of reds, yellows, yellow-orange, and white to create the background.

With some new pieces, I just have to keep painting and trust that a path will present itself. After I added this large blue block of paint, for example, I had no idea what to do with it. A path always presents itself, eventually. Thank goodness for that!

I turned the painting at this point, so that the bulk of the blue emerged from the left instead of the right. I also added the beginning of a few more layers, which I really disliked at this stage, to be honest. There is always at least one point in any new painting where I’m convinced that I’ve messed up the painting completely. Thankfully acrylic paint layers easily!

I started to experiment with covering up a lot of the blue paint and I found that I really loved the soft, bluish gray that emerged.  I still didn’t know where this painting was heading, but began to enjoy simply mixing colors to see what would happen.

As I added more white paint, in addition to hints of other color, I began to realize how much I loved the bright red-orange peeking through in just a few spots. The spark of an idea formed about how to move forward with the painting. Hooray!

I started to define the edges of the painting and add some additional color to the middle.

I added lots of color – little hints throughout – to the point where a scene had loosely emerged.

Here’s the final version of the painting. What do you think?

I know what I see in this painting, but I also love the idea of leaving it open to interpretation. I hope whatever you see speaks to you!

I’m loving this journey. Truly I am.

With gratitude,