I’ve been a bit arty.
Some of you will have seen via instagram that I have been a little arty recently. It’s been a while coming to fruition, but I have embarked on something new. Something that can run alongside what I already do. I used to paint, but I’m not a natural born artist, giving up art at school, as only the superbly talented chosen ones were encouraged. My grandfather used to paint in oils and my grandmother was a dressmaker, and could sketch dresses on bodies, and faces with no trouble at all.
For me it didn’t come naturally.
As I wasn’t naturally gifted, I just didn’t bother. Until I was in my mid twenties, when I booked myself into a drawing and painting for beginners course at Dillington House.
It was a holiday really, and somewhere I could meet new people as a was single at the time. I was a little disappointed that all the other participants were over sixty and retired! I did get chance to use different mediums and realise that everyone had a different style, and I knew that I liked painting flowers rather than landscapes, and didn’t want the hassle of oils. I wanted speed! The speed of watercolour, with the purity and depth of the pigment.
From there I moved on.
I also tried hand painting on silk, as this was more illustrative, so I didn’t have to worry if the flower didn’t look quite like the one I was looking at. The last painting I did was before we got married. That was 18 years ago.
I kept my paints.
I kept everything in a lovely wooden box. All my lovely brushes and pads of water colour paper had travelled through two house moves, but hadn’t been used until NOW! I knew that water colour needed to take a back seat, so I ordered a set of acrylics. Abstract painting was where I felt I should be. It’s funny though, I’ve had all the tools for months, but the timing had to be perfect. I needed time alone, in the right light. I wanted to start in the spring, like a kind of emerging I guess!
An accomplished artist and healer friend of mine Aquara, had given me some words of encouragement. So off I went! Colour is the name of the game. I have emerged.
I would call this Energy Painting.
The first pieces I created were focused on a specific chakra. The root and solar plexus to be precise. Perfect for all that creative energy that needed to explode onto the paper. I then moved onto the throat chakra and created a blue set.
You may be drawn to one just because you like the colour, or you may be looking at the from a more healing and energetic point of view.
I did think about making them into cards.
I decided to leave the originals as they are, rather than slice them up and make them into cards. I hadn’t really thought of them as small pieces of art! So, the second phase, was to look into having them printed as cards. A great little gallery near Wells – PennyBatch Gallery allows you to upload your images and see what they will look like as cards. The only way to really see, is to have a couple of samples made up – they have proper backs and everything!
So, here I am, still doing what I do treating people and teaching, but I now have a hobby! I haven’t had a hobby in years! It seems that this hobby is already developing into another avenue of work for me.
This is something that I am looking into. I seriously had to think about where I want to be, and what I will be doing in the next ten years. After all, what is the point of keeping it all to myself, when part of what I do is helping people become more centred and open to the subtleties of the universe? The menopause makes you think about these things!
Paintings should bring joy and focus. You may just want one because you like the colour, while others may want one to focus on in meditation or yoga sessions. The possibilities are endless….
I’m off to paint!
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