No literally, it is, I mean, without it I would probably be stuck in bed with the covers over my head daily!
The whole process of painting relaxes my mind. No matter what challenges or fears face me, I can fully lay them aside and find a place of peace that calms any anxiety I may have, no matter how big.
And this was big.
It’s been almost two years since my Dad passed away. He was elderly, but that did not take away the intense grief still that came when I realised he was not there anymore to give me advice, to encourage me and cheer me on when things were hard.
Dad was my rock, my anchor. Watching his creativity as I grew up; his woodworking, innovative ‘fix anything’ approach, his music and passion taught me how important creative expression is to survive.
I wanted him to be there forever, I wasn’t ready for him to leave me, but his time had come and I had to accept that he was passing the baton to us kids now, he had done what he needed to and it was our time to step forward on our own.
In each of the valleys in my life, I have used painting to find a place of peace. A dwelling where my mind can settle and remind me that life is not all that bad after all!
When Dad passed, I had been working on a large oil on linen canvas; I had been travelling from Melbourne to Northern Victoria regularly to see him, and each time I arrived home I would make a beeline for the easel.
I desperately needed a place where things were always the same.
The canvas, the paints, the lighting – they were all the same; predictable, and I could be in control of the outcome. Unlike what had been happening around me.
Painting was a healing balm to my soul
The canvas I was painting at that time was a beautiful rocky riverbed from a photo I had taken of a river by an opening to the sea. The image was soothing and calm; the colours had a blend of warm and coolness about them, like the water could be cold, but warm too. In the warm, dry sun, the rocks were grey, but as soon as the water washed over them, they came to life in a riot of colours.
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