Difficult Aspects

Difficult Aspects

​LISTEN to the blog by clicking the DOWNLOAD link above

Difficult Aspects
oil on wood panel
11 x 14 x .75 inches
This item is unframed but ready to hang
(click on the image to purchase)

​Art is not just about beauty—it’s a tool for processing, understanding, and confronting difficult aspects of life. Artists use it to communicate real stories, perspectives, and emotions; we engage with it and, through it, connect with culture, history, and identities.  - YAGMUR OZBAY

It cannot be repeated enough - artists must make art right now. 

For me, it seems nearly selfish. Because I truly love creating and it feels like play. But it also forms a vehicle for processing emotions, both for me as the creator and for you, the viewer. And, well, we need all the ways we can to untangle the snarl that is the world around us.

​This video is a lovely little animation of how to use art to get in touch with your emotions and move them through you.

If you're like me, there is a ball of dread, anxiety, unrest, dis-ease inside when I think of our changing country. Painting helps me move that ball. 

I'd love to hear how you're using art (of any kind, including books and movies) to help during these times. Leave a comment below. And here's a hug from me to you. :)

---

About the art:  beginning with an old acrylic painting, I slathered on some gesso and then carved through it with a rubber wedge to expose parts of the underpainting and to create texture.  Then, inspired by a sunset photo and the idea of a city hidden in the distance on the horizon, I began laying in swathes of color with a brush and thinned oil paint.  I built the layers on this piece over a number of weeks, seeking dark darks and vibrant  color.  Butcher paper blotting to create sky texture and the trailing path on the lower left.  A tiny brush and RESISTING over-definition for hints of a city.  Chopsticks through paint for more texture.

---

There are just two more weeks to enter the October Reader Giveaway!  Leave a comment on any blog post this month to be entered.  And please do leave your suggestions for future Reader Giveaways - I take each and every one of them to heart. Thank you!