Get Up And Wander

Get Up And Wander

"Get Up And Wander" - oil on gallery wrapped canvas, 18  x 36 x 1.25 inches.  Ready to hang. (click on the image to purchase)

​Up too early again. Listening to the patter of rain dripping from the tree limbs onto the tent and the hush of the creek in the darkness. Breathing in the scent of earth and rain. I can’t believe we are here, surrounded by these old trees and mountains, with days ahead of us. I’m a little boy all over again, incredulous that this place actually exists, and I am here in it. I want to get up and wander down to the creek and feel its black, wet, cold aliveness on my skin.
- RICHARD J. NEVLE

There is nothing quite like old trees, mountains and the ocean to make grown humans feel like kids again.   And the exquisite luxury of time to enjoy it, more than just a day or two, makes the experience fully immersive.  

​I get a little antsy if I don't get outside enough.  My nervous system responds to nature with a deep exhale, sheds its anxiety and just is.  Even when the hike is long, hard and uphill both ways.  Even when it's raining and cold.  Even when it's blisteringly hot and oppressively sunny.  

The world we live in sends us messages which can keep us away from this balm - too busy, too tired, it's too far, it's too buggy, it will take too long and so on.  And yet every time I overcome these ne'er-do-well thoughts, I am instantly glad.  And feeling like a kid again?  Heck YES! 

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About the art:  this is a large piece created over top of another murdered painting.  I fussed with the original piece until it just felt hopeless, dark and unsatisfying.  What's the fix for that?  Heaps of softer, brighter colors and some groooooooovy texture (thank you, failed underpainting!) along with a hint of whimsy (the heart just revealed itself - not planned at all).  I lost count of the layers, and it took months (not weeks) to dry.  

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​Big thanks to artist and blogger Dotty Seiter (dottyseiter.com) who recently posted about tearing up a piece of art that just wasn't working.  It inspired me to rip a piece to, um, well, pieces.  No worries - those pieces will become fodder for collage later.  Yay!

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It's time for the JUNE READER GIVEAWAY!  This month's reader question is: what do YOU do to refill your creative tank?  Leave a comment below.  One (or more) lucky readers will be selected at random and win an original piece of art - FREE! 
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