My Path at the Crossroads

After wracking my brain over my life and art for a considerable amount of time, I've finally chose a path at the crossroads. For those familiar with my art, you know that I've been predominately been painting portraits of women. Now, I'm changing my focus to expand and explore interior and exterior scenes as well as abstraction. Of course there may be people depicted within some of these scenes, too.

I spent a great deal of time in the woods growing up. There is something magical about being away from the sounds created by humans and sitting quietly in the forest and listening to nature. The sunlight leaving mottled shadows on the ground, the wind rustling and trees swaying, the birds flitting about, the various plant life, the sounds of animals scurrying. the meadows on the edges and more. There is contentment there. The woods have a meditative quality.

You may have seen some the street scenes I've painted in the past. While I've never lived directly in urban areas, I find them fascinating. There's a different vibe about them. I see older architecture as fascinating human ingenuity. I notice light fixtures, traffic lights, signage, cracks in sidewalks, curbs, manhole covers, drainage grates and road markings. I notice pedestrians, a variety of vehicles, solitary people and people in groups. I love seeing urban areas at night, the glow from artificial lighting emanating from windows and storefronts, neon signs, streetlamps, headlights, traffic lights, shadows casting about and more. Yes. Urban areas intrigue me.

I've played around with abstraction periodically in the past. I plan to explore that further, along with surrealism. It opens up an entire range of possibilities without boundaries. The interplay of colors, textures and symbolism captivate me. Playing with art is such a great way to learn. Letting go and embracing that freedom without expectation takes me back to a time when I didn't judge myself as much as I do as an adult. That's where creativity gets stuck when we grow up. As a kid, no matter what the marks looked like I had made, I never thought it was terrible or not good enough. I'd be happy to show anyone.

Being an adult isn't what I thought it would be when I was a kid. Regardless, I couldn't wait to get there. I wanted to drive, to decide what groceries to buy, to know what adults were talking about when I was ushered out of the room, watch whatever I wanted on TV, wear what I wanted, listen to whatever music I wanted to, etc. I had all of these ideas of how happy I'd be then.

The glee of reaching the adult pinnacle disappeared as the machinations of a child's immature mind was revealed.  Adulthood comes with discovering new responsibilities, expectations and work. I honestly thought that once I was an adult I would somehow have all of this wonderful freedom. Imagine my disappointment to realize that I actually had more freedom as a child.

I am here now, trying to recapture some of that freedom that was lost over time. It's both frightening and ecstatic simultaneously. Yet here I go... 

NATURE WALK 8x8

CITY STROLL 8x8

THOUGHTS 9x12