I have been craving time to paint this whole summer. With all of the kids home, I was constantly distracted or just completely unfocused, almost frozen, like I couldn’t start painting because I knew I’d be interrupted or pulled away by someone or something, so I never even set out my paints or canvases. But last night I was thinking to myself, “Hey, just take out a canvas and when you get home from work, just make a mark! So when I got home, I settled in, checked that everyone was ok and busy with their own thing. I grabbed my canvas and paints, and snuck out to the porch and let my intuition guide my color selection and brush strokes. It felt so good to feel my hands glide up and down and watch the paint color the canvas. I had no intentions, no idea what I wanted to put there, but as soon as I opened my art caddy, my hand reached for the blue acrylic paint and a large brush, and it danced across the canvas. Next, it called a lighter blue, then a purple, followed by a gold, and they each took turns gliding and dancing across the canvas, working together to create a field of color.  I found bubble wrap in my caddy, dipped it in the paint, and added some marks onto the canvas. I also grabbed a palette knife and made some marks with that. Just gliding my hand up and down, adding the blue paint, already felt like success. I had no agenda, no plan, I just wanted to make some marks with paint and a brush, and that’s what I did. As usual, my husband tried to find images in the painting, searching for meaning and logic, he can’t just enjoy the beauty of the marks. I, on the other hand, see the beauty of the colors playing together, mingling with no pressure to be anything more than what they are. I might add some line work, I’m not sure yet. For now, I feel like it’s finished, and I feel satisfied. I have no intention of displaying this canvas. It’s not my style and never anything I would purchase. This was all about the process. I was not trying to get anywhere or create a product this was just an exercise for my soul, and wow, did I feel satisfied at the end of the day! 

20×20 Mixed Media Acrylic Canvas