“Infinity Divinity”

Today’s painting is another abstract painting from the class I’m taking. If you’d rather watch the video about this art piece rather than read, here’s the link: https://youtu.be/JZ0WW15gqEM

I have to say that I have an independent spirit when it comes to painting and am very intuitive and always trying to make a lesson “my own.” This course with Linzy Arnott is a good one because she walks you through the process of painting while encouraging you to choose colors and make decisions intuitively about your own painting, never expecting you to follow her exactly. I appreciate that in my instructors, which is why I will always be a member of Awesome Art School with Karen Campbell because she does the same. 

So, I began week two the same way I did week one, praying for a word and colors. A meditative practice is a part of the instructor’s process and since I already have my own way of beginning a painting, I prayed for my word. I added ginger oil to my paint water for a bit of sweet and spicy and received the phrase “shine, shine, shine,” which has been prophetically spoken over me before. I felt the words come to me in bright yellow followed by colors of pink and aqua, so I wrote my words in yellow, and then surrounded them in aqua and splashes of pink. I added texture, which blended into and with the paint and gave me additional colors and hues in purples, greens, and orange/red tones. Then I totally wanted to use the comb-like scraper again, and created waves around the canvas. I felt waves of energy, waves of water, and waves of love as I made them. Just like my first week’s painting, I thought this painting would have a different name-something in the waves. Here’s what it looked like at this stage:

For the next stage I added white, off-white, and gold with dapples of bright pink. I blended and wiped away, telling myself to stop trying to control the process and just see what happens. I liked how the underpainting was coming through the whites and gold as they toned down the bright colors, and they also lessened the harshness of the texture, which I found really interesting.

The next piece of the assignment was to use gold leaf on a symbol that resonates with us. When I prayed for my symbol, the triquetra Celtic knot, which I have loved for a long time as it has sentimental meanings for me, came to me with a circle around it, which was new to me. The circle means unity and infinity and I felt like that suited this symbol and life stage well, so I added it. This was my second time using the leaf, gold this time, and my first time using a specific adhesive. I surprised myself at my accuracy after brushing off the excess leaf because the glue was clear-but there was my symbol, as bright as you please. 

This was the end of the assignment for week 2, but Linzy advises us to turn our painting during our process, to add what it needs or fix spots we don’t like. I turned my painting every way around, and it seemed like it was missing something. My daughter also commented that it didn’t look finished. I did nothing with it for several days, just sporadically sat in front of it staring at it trying to determine what it needed. I listened quietly, but heard nothing. Finally, after about four days, I decided to add words. But what words? 

I love words. I love alliteration and assonance, onomatopoeia, metaphors, and euphemisms. So, what should I add to this canvas? God words. I’m a spiritual person, and I should add God words. The symbol is very shiny and Jesus talks about us being light so I decided on Isaiah 60:1 because that verse tells us to arise and shine. I wrote the first part of the verse and knew it was enough, and then I added words around the canvas of what God says about us. He calls us sons and daughters, he says we are royal, we are chosen. I added these and several other words to the canvas in gold ink, but thought they stood out a bit much against the very pastel canvas. I’m not really a pastel person and it still didn’t feel finished to me. 

I stared at the painting again for a while, and then I reminded myself not to control. I fought perfectionism in that moment and thought, “it’s a class-it’s okay if it doesn’t turn out.” I dug those first two colors back out (pink and aqua) and started painting them around the canvas to add more color, boldness, and dimension, avoiding the symbol. Then I got out some stencils and added a bit more color and texture with darker teal and magenta. Feeling much more satisfied with the color palette, I allowed myself to cover some of the words. I added more gold, and then for the finishing touch, I scraped white over the waves to help them show up more.

I went from excited to questioning to frustrated to contemplative to surprised to calm, and to finally satisfied during this painting. I’m happy with the final piece even though I had ups and downs with it. I find mystery in the painting process, especially when I do it with Holy Spirit, and it’s an adventure in uncertainty most of the time for me. As a mystery buff and a problem solver, I don’t get bored with painting because I will never solve the mystery of knowing how each painting will turn out. With the abstract art, I am the vessel the art comes through.

Thanks for reading my blog. God bless you!

Dawn