Sunday, November 1, 2015

To Every Thing

Saying goodbye. Those are the words that came to me when I saw the cornfield on Fellows Road in Ipswich a week ago Monday.

Repeatedly over the summer I'd tried to get a decent photo of that field filled with its growing, then ripening, then ready-to-harvest crop, but what I captured in photos didn't match what I saw live with my eyes, and I didn't paint it.

It wasn't until the day after Muth's death when I saw the field empty of its yield that I snagged a mental image and felt moved to paint.

Here's the thing:

I'm saying goodbye to corn,
to summer,
to an intensive time with my family,
to my mother.

But, to paint any of that goodbye, I need to say hello.

I need to plant a seed, water it, shine light on it, grow it.

I need to take my palette knife and bring an empty canvas to life, layer by layer, tone by tint, scrape by stroke, breath by breath.

Goodbye means God be with you.

I'd say that about covers all the bases.

Saying Goodbye
20x16", acrylic on stretched canvas
landscape
2015
$320



2 comments:

Simone said...

I love it, and I am so happy that you keep on painting!
Simone

dotty seiter: now playing said...

Thanks, Simone. YOU are some of the energy behind this particular painting; your art and your writing about your process are gifts that move me to a more intuitive place when I paint.

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