Soaking my Head

My friend Nicky, far hardier than I, swims in the Atlantic at Singing Beach regularly in the summer. She refers to it as soaking her head, and she relishes the refreshment and clearing.

I'm soaking my head in a different way of late, mindfully immersing my whole self in a scene before painting it.

To fully dunk myself before picking up my brush today I dove back into a recent walk at Singing Beach, mentally re-perceiving the colors and textures and air. I swam in the photo I took, too, and I further plunged into an abstract painting that caught my eye.

As I walked into my studio—refreshed and clear—I left behind everything except the feeling in my body. No photographs to reference, nothing but what I held inside me that sought expression.

And then I painted.

Soaking my Head at Singing
6x6", acrylic on gessobord
seascape
2015
SOLD