Into the Light: Finding Joy in Art

“Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.” — Pablo Picasso

The above quote is on a rubber stamp a friend gave to me.  I’m not sure if it’s true that Picasso said that but it does sum up pretty perfectly how I feel about art.  Contemplating beautiful art is for me as life-giving as beautiful scenery or forest walks.  Note that I say “beautiful art” because, honestly, I don’t really like being challenged by bigger themes.  I like what makes my heart soar. Cue the Impressionist paintings. 

Making art is different.  It also feeds my spirit but in a different way.  It’s meditative and therefore relaxing but there’s something more.  It opens up a channel inside me that allows all the feelings to flow so it can be a joyful or tender or melancholy process.  Most of my paintings are 5” x 7” .  The largest are 11” x 14”.  I love diving into the fine detail, mixing the perfect color or layering and blending the colored pencils.

I don’t claim to be a great artist.  My talents are very modest.  People who do like my art, like it I think because I’ve found and tried to recreate a little bit of beauty.  I’ve read recently about trying to find the “glimmers” in each day; the kind word from someone, your favorite song, or the monarch butterfly that followed you on your walk (that really happened to me!).  When I print my artwork on cards and send them off, I’m trying to give a little glimmer to someone’s day.

Art comes in many forms, not just the visual arts.  I know nothing about music but I think I can understand the musicians impulse to find the nuance, the color, the balance in their art.  When we had the Kitchen Gallery at church, many people shared their art from drawings, poetry, photography, graphic art.  You’re invited to once again share your art in our Updates from the Journey.  Let’s send some glimmers out into the world.  We have a lot of love to share.

— Laurie Blue

My painting “Into the Light” is from a photo taken in a real place.  When I finished it, I was struck by how it perfectly showed the feeling of leaving behind a difficult time and once again inhabiting my contented self.