I wanted a large painting (4ft. by 5 ft.) to cover most of the stone fireplace. Covering it with a painting seemed easier than removing the stone.
The idea of creating something abstract didn't sound too difficult.
But ideas are often much easier than realities.
I planned to make a background and then paint circles and spirals on top.
So I bought painters' fabric and got out my acrylic craft paints.
I didn't intend to reminisce about my days in the Caribbean.
Practically on its own, the painting morphed.
Some things are easy to forget. Some aren't.
I swam with sea turtles. I experienced the blue blue sea and white sandy beaches.
My dad, who recently spent two years in the Caribbean, saw the unfinished product and said, "You need a sea turtle."
That's when I realized my circles and spirals weren't going to work.
That's when I realized what I painted.
So I surrendered. My son and I printed off images of sea life and decopaged them onto the painting.
The whole project was difficult but satisfying.
I'm not a trained artist. Most of the time, I didn't know what I was doing.
I did it anyway. When you know what you really want,
sometimes you have to put fear aside.
Sometimes that's the only way to get to where you want to go.
Even if sometimes you don't realize where you want to go.
