The Hope of Myself

The Hope of Myself

​"The Hope of Myself" - acrylic on gallery-wrapped canvas, 20 x 16 x 1.5.  Ready to hang (Sides are painted; no need to frame.  Hanging wire is attached).  Available here and at Artfinder.

I am so distant from the hope of myself,
in which I have goodness, and discernment,
and never hurry through the world
but walk slowly, and bow often.
Around me the trees stir in their leaves
and call out, “Stay awhile.”
The light flows from their branches.
And they call again, “It’s simple,” they say,
“and you too have come
into the world to do this, to go easy, to be filled
with light, and to shine.”
from "When I am Amongst the Trees" by Mary Oliver

Oooooh there is nothing quite like a good romp up a mountain and over hill and dale to recharge the muse and fill the studio with bubbling good mojo again!  I think the prescription here is: hike, paint, repeat.  Again!  Again!

The ability to "never hurry through the world" is elusive to me sometimes.  It seems I am wired for productivity and movement.  But moving through the trees for many hours takes that monkey mind and brings it to a quiet resting place.  The need to hurry disappears.

Oliver's words resonate comfortingly during troubled times and excessive news consumption - let's be easy, be filled with light and shine.

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About the art:  this piece is painted over another portrait, and was a week-long wrestling match.  At least a dozen times I had my hand on the gesso bucket, ready to erase her from the earth and start again.  Once I got out of my head and let the paint have its way, this contemplative woman emerged and decided to stay.  A lesson in letting go, embracing the flow and sometimes walking away for a day or two.