Geeze, where did January go? Can we start over? It seems like a lot of people are starting the new year in February instead of January, myself included. I like to think of it as “I was just practicing for February” 😉 Maybe you’ve noticed I’ve been pretty quiet lately. While I try to keep up online, January is one of those months where I just like to hibernate a bit. I have been busy reworking pricing, updating inventory and getting some new paintings in my online shop. But I guess I have to remember to tell you about them at some point!
I’d like to introduce you to a new(ish) series of paintings that I’ve been working on. The idea has been there for a long time and I just never put the brush to canvas. Some of my inspiration for paintings comes from doodles. You know when you’re on the phone with someone? And you have a pen and paper in front of you and stuff just comes out all over the paper? There are three things you can count on me drawing if I’m doodling something:
- Eyes
- Plants of some kind
- Spirals
I’ve experimented with all three, but the spiral recently caught my attention again. The spiral is one of the world’s oldest symbols representing rebirth, growth and expansion of consciousness. I’m also fascinated by their common appearance in nature. Check out this awesome aloe plant!
Though I have known for a long time what the spiral meant, I never really examined it closely until I became more interested in metaphysics, quantum physics and the mind body connection.
Since the spiral can be seen as a symbol of release, to me it has become a way to represent letting go of emotions that no longer serve me. I also see them as my progress in the journey to understand the mind body connection and finding the solution to unexplained chronic pain. The paintings in this series are abstract illustrations of these ideas.
These paintings are made using a palette knife, acrylic paint and heavy gel medium. The gel medium is what gives them a little bit of texture. With some of them, I used a brush to define lines that I wanted to stand out.
Quick drying acrylic made it easy to build up layers of color. Some of these started out as completely different colors! I wanted to use the palette knife to spread the color out and keep it loose looking.
Each one has a little bit different story behind it and more are on the way. Check out the ones I have for sale now by clicking here!
So if you decided to start over in February, you can think of it as making progress and continuing your own spiral journey. By the way, I’m finally, nearly pain free after 15+ years of looking for answers. Feel free to message me and I can send you all kinds of resources that have helped me.
So, what do you like to doodle when you’re on the phone? Are you a spiral person too? I’d love to know, tell me in the comments!