Friday, August 15, 2014

Painting Visual Narratives

My studio time has been up and down recently with challenges in getting back into the flow of painting.  I find when I have been inconsistent in my studio for a period of time, I can be discouraged and dissatisfied with my work.

I found an article posted online that gives me hope; photographer David duChemin (http://www.davidduchemin.com) wrote about Knowing Your Rhythm. He relates the inevitable ups and downs in our creative work using the wave as an analogy. I can't write here all he said, but in a summary, he states when we find ourselves in the lows of the wave, we can consciously feed our inspiration by going to a museum, gallery, coffee shop, library, theater or wherever we are inspired. He mentions a wave is not a wave without the lows and creativity often happens in the space between the highs and lows.  So I keep painting and doing the research waiting for the momentum to push me up again.

This painting . . .and the wind ran out of breath was actually painted several months ago but I'm just now posting it.  The inspiration comes from the story of Jesus calming the water while the disciples are in the boat crossing the Sea of Galilee.  It contrasts the stormy sky with the glass-like sea.  I feel a little familiarity about this piece because of all the tumultuous thunderstorms we have had this summer.  I imagined myself in a boat in the midst of that storm and  thought how frightened I would be.  The instantaneous calm made the disciples stand in awe.  If you want to read the whole reflection and references, go to http://www.phyllisthomasart.com  , click on Artist Reflections from the menu.

. . .and the wind ran out of breath
acrylic on cradled board
24 x 48", diptych

As I regain my rhythm in the studio, I look forward to gradually rising to the peak and continuing my next decade of paintings.