November 2019
/Creating art is healing and therapeutic in and of itself. It allows you to dig into your deepest hurts, anguish from grief and your greatest joys. Our thoughts, feelings, revelations, and moments of encountering God can be processed, expressed and released through the creative process.
October marks the month of my grandfather’s passing. He has now been gone for 11 years, how is that possible!? Sometimes my memories of him are so vivid it brings tears to my eyes instantly. Other times it feels like a lifetime since I have heard his voice full of wisdom (and often times mischief). We were a mess together and he was always up to something that would tease my grandmother but ultimately make her laugh.
He called me Kid or if he referred to me it was always as The Kid. It has always been his name for me. So this October as I was working on new work the lake surfaced again in my paintings. The lake is where we spent our summers and holds some of my fondest childhood memories of him. The ocean holds my other cherished memories…so in a way I guess the continued interest in water makes sense. I can’t seem to stop painting water…but that is another journal entry for another day (stay close for updates on my new water series).
This painting is of the lake and as I sat down to title the piece...all I could think of was him. Hence the name, Thinking of you - Love The Kid.
This painting is a personal piece of a dream I had. The dream was about my husband’s father who passed away so quickly that we were all in shock. In my dream, Jack showed himself to me on the edge of a cherry blossom forest...he waved goodbye and walked into the light. It was a beautiful dream and I will continue to try and capture the beautiful, peacefulness I felt at that moment. I awoke to this dream on the day we buried him. I believe this was his way of saying goodbye to me and what better way to get my attention than through trees. The way Jack and I always connected was talking about gardening. We both loved to garden and he had a love of ferns and Japanese maple trees. Hence, the name of the piece...The Legacy Of A Garden 💙
It is a different composition for me and one that is a challenge. This is my second attempt at capturing the beauty of that moment...I will continue to see if I can recreate the dream.
Chy
