This piece is called “Embody” and when I had finished painting it, I hated it. I looked at it as something which was too simple, too chaotic, too random. I didn’t paint over it immediately, but I set it aside.
When it took it out again, I sat back and just looked at it for a while. What came to mind was the human body, and I started to see things I didn’t at first see. The underlying depth surrounding the heart. The complexity & juxtaposition of the layers of energy moving through and around the body, and that energy interacting with the world outside the body.
It made me think about my own body, and how I used to hate it. Too tall, too awkward. Never good enough or strong enough. I never accepted it for what it was, and I never really thought about it as anything but a vessel to allow my life to be lived.
When I look closer at my own body, I can also see things I haven’t stopped to think about before. Like in the painting, I can’t see or feel the depth of my own heart, but I know that I have an endless capacity for love and compassion.
Taking a breath I can feel the energy moving through my arms, legs, torso. There are times this energy feels chaotic, and directly influenced by the world around me. When I can tame the energy swirling around and in my head, I can slowly calm the chaos in my body.
What I now see in this painting is strength. To stand firm in the whirlwind of the world, arms wide, face forward and heart open and ready.
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