When we need release (a new painting from start to finish)

“Wisdom is merely the movement from fighting life to embracing it.” – Rasheed Ogunlaru 

I’ve been learning and relearning a valuable lesson over the past several weeks.

Do you fight what your body wants or needs, because you want to tough it out and reach your latest goal?

Recently I’ve been receiving the message everywhere I turn that I don’t leave enough room for enjoyment in my life. In dreams and conversations. In a recent crystal ball reading I had. From the acupuncturist. Inside my own muscles, especially in my jaw.

The core of the message I’ve received: slow down and enjoy the present moment.

At the same time, I’ve also recently felt the pull to experiment with new styles of painting. The message that I need more play in my life coincides perfectly with this wish to grow artistically, and so I’ve done some experimentation this week.

I’ve started a new series of little abstract paintings, painted on 6×6 wood panels. As I’m sure you know by now, color is my absolute favorite part of painting. To create movement and mood and energy through color alone, with no identifying landscape to orient us in space, has felt like both a challenge and an opportunity to truly play.

Here’s my first attempt:

I’ve loved using red, yellow, and yellow-orange paint lately, as the warmth creates such a pop against my usual favorite color choices. Leaving just a hint of warm color in a painting makes me feel like there’s a story hidden just beneath the surface of the paint.

I experimented with adding a series of little plants, to hold onto some of the background color after I added more layers.

I got to this point, and honestly had no idea what direction I wanted to take this piece. I was starting to feel like the plants were not working, as I’d painted them directly in the center of the panel and I usually try to avoid doing that. I also didn’t know how I wanted to connect the bright color at the bottom of the panel with the darker colors above. Every tweak I made seemed to mess up the painting even more, until I knew that I had to make some drastic color shifts.

I began by turning the painting on its side, to create a different perspective. I covered up the little dots along the edge, and flooded the painting with cooling blue paint. I started to see an energy moving through the paint from left to right, like the darker blocks of color on the left were being broken up and pulled across the panel and out of sight.

I used some of my handmade paper to create two little half moon shapes on the left. I love the little pop of brightness and texture they add.

Here’s the finished panel. I added the word release to the painting for two reasons. First, the paint shifts as it moves from left to right, taking on a different texture and energy that feels to me like a breath moving out of the body. Can you feel it?

Second, this painting comes at a point in my journey when I’ve needed to release old patterns that haven’t been working for me: working too much, taking my to-do list too seriously, not leaving time for play.

So I showed up this week to play, let stress out, and let the present moment in.

Now it’s your turn to check in with yourself. What messages have you been receiving recently in your own life? Does anything need to shift for you?

Release whatever no longer serves you, my friends. It feels good!

With love,