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| White Winter - 36 X 48 |
I’ve never had doubts that there were talents sleeping quietly in my soul. My mind told me I had to get through life first; marriage, children, baseball games, Girl Scout cookies, and several careers (attempting to find the one that “defines” me). I taught myself to paint along the way but this had to be done in a hurry so I wouldn’t be late for yet another dinner party.
A year or so ago, my husband and I spent a few days in a cabin in the mountains. I’m not sure what prompted this strange scenario – no TV, no radio, no restaurants, no people, no Starbucks, no cell phone service – but for the first time in my life my mind was blank, my lists were blank – my soul was still. I wandered the woods taking pictures of trees and snow through the lense of my silent cell phone. The quiet itself held its own noises; the crunch of snow under my feet, the howl of a coyote, a branch breaking. I have lived in Colorado most of my adult life and a walk in the woods or a hike in the mountain had just never fit into my busy day.
To feel that calm, to be in such peace, to find God and all the simple pleasures that He has created - to truly comprehend that life as we attempt it, without Him, is making us all crazy! I knew that I absolutely had to calm the world I live in for myself so my talents had space to unfold.
Life is noisy…so I create quiet places on canvas. Some are actual places and others are from my imagination. Regardless, I know there are such places everywhere. I love the warm golds, reds and burnt oranges of fall and the crisp whites of winter. I have recently found a passion for the Colorado aspens. If you are silent, you can hear their whisper.
Adjusting my priorities has opened my heart and mind to what’s real. When I paint, I find a truce in what the world perceives as a successful life and the peace that my heart and mind crave – contentment with a simple brushstroke.
I hope to bring calm to my family, friends and all who are touched by my art, if for only a brief, stolen moment of imagining life a little quieter.
