my heart

I painted this piece a few weeks ago and haven't, until now, had time to post it on the blog. So here ya go.

It honestly took me awhile to like this painting, which is maybe why I haven't been very motivated to post it. I thought the open part at the top was too plain, too empty. But after some time, I grew to appreciate it and feel that it was and is really part of the piece.  It makes sense.

To me, this painting is a reflection of my heart. There is joy and beauty, confusion and pain, truth and innocence. Most intriguing though, is the dark, empty space-- not meant to symbolize darkness, hatred, or a void. But instead to represent depth.  I believe in each of us there are unknown and secret places, spaces left to discover and unveil. 

It is the secret of life.

 "It is a terrible thing to be so open: it is as if my heart put on a face and walked into the world." 

[-Sylvia Plath, "A Poem for Three Voices."]

a light in the darkness

Recently I've been feeling like I'm in limbo- somewhere in between being okay and not.  I'm in the midst of a tough situation and I feel like I often find myself in a state of confusion, feeling conflicted and unsure of what to do.

Such is how I was feeling yesterday when I painted this piece.

This painting actually started out green, believe it or not.  I almost always start my painting with a black background because I like to bring light to the darkness. I decided to try something different this time, although you obviously can't tell anymore because the green is all but completely covered. It was a nasty shade of green though, so you're really not missing much.

The way I view this painting is exactly the way I was feeling at the time: confused and conflicted.  The mixed of colors, lines, shapes, and textures create a sense of chaos almost.  The darkness appears to be seeping in and overshadowing the light along with everything else in sight.  You almost feel like the darkness is dripping or falling down, as if it is about to cover the entire painting completely. But alas, it is not.  The light  is illuminating and erasing the darkness.  

That is what I seek to portray through this painting. That although I feel troubled at times, I can have hope.  Even when it feels like the darkness is closing in on me, it can not extinguish my light.  

Light shines brighter in the dark.

"The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." John 1:5