Jun_20 Paintings during the pandemic . . .

I am usually a very prolific artist. During the period before and after my hip operation however, my energy was focused entirely on preparing for the surgery and then on the recovery. So, I rarely even ventured into my home studio. In March 2020, I had my 3 month post-surgery visit where my doctor told me that I was in excellent shape and that the hip was recovering well. That marked the turning point - back to creating in the art room. Since then, I have been even more prolific than before. This also relates to the beginning of isolation and being confined to home. So, I had two reasons to paint voraciously. One was that I had an increased abundance of time. The other was to express the multitude of feelings that were flowing through me in response to this global situation.

Internally, I was struggling with the concepts of dark and light. I wondered what the purpose of this situation was and what sense I could make of it that resonated with my spiritual perspective in life. So, the following two paintings were part of that exploration of darkness and light.

Dark and Light

In My Hour of Darkness

Looking back, I can see that I was examining all the many facets of the situation.

In the painting "Silver to Gold," it was the alchemy of transformation. When we find ourselves constrained, we might need to look beyond the limits of our thinking and perhaps beyond our human abilities and open ourselves to new possibilities.

Silver to Gold

"Sunshine" expressed the idea that we are still thoroughly blessed and grateful to feel the warm rays of the sun, warming our hearts and brightening our days.

Sunshine

"God Rays" captures the power of Heaven reaching down to us with love and blessings. We see this in the sky as the light comes through the clouds. It is always a reminder that God loves us and that we are truly blessed.

God Rays

‘Renewal’ focuses on light and hope emerging from the dark. The light appears to be coming out from behind a cloud. It was always there, but we couldn’t see the fullness of the light before it emerged. The light will give us the opportunity to renew ourselves after the heavy darkness and challenges that we must face in order to be re-born.

Renewal

"Rebirth and Transformation" captures the darkness and oppressive energy that is pressing down upon us during this time. We are being asked to move towards a rebirth of ourselves, our communities and our planet. The darkness is essential for the change ahead. Spirit will help us with this change and there is lots of love around us, acknowledging that this is not an easy challenge that we’re being presented with.

Rebirth and Transformation

"Altering Course" is acknowledging that we have been asked to make a fundamental change when the unexpected happens and we are challenged to alter our course. We need to think differently about how we will proceed.

Altering Course

"Alive and Growing" focuses on the future. Here we see the beginning of new life. The seed is opening up and energy is flowing upwards and outwards. The seed itself is bursting with life and the earth is feeding it nourishment and love. This is our world right now. We are being re-born into a new way of being and there is a foundation of love for us to build our future on. There is an experience of coming full circle . . . the seed opens to growth, which comes back to the earth to nourish it and this in turn goes back to the seed.

Alive and Growing

"L’chaim" (To Life!) is a celebration of life in all its complexities and wonders. We must celebrate and honour life, not only in our moments of joy, but in all moments that contribute to our experience.

L’chaim (To Life!)

"One Fallen Sparrow" is a poignant expression of loss. There has been so much loss during this period on the planet and yet we are reminded that each soul matters. We all contribute and even though we might feel insignificant - like a sparrow - we are indeed hugely important! We reflect the larger truth of how large and all-encompassing God’s love is and how we are all tenderly held on our journeys. Each one of us has an impact beyond what we can know or imagine.