Empress, Oil on Linen

The Empress is the third white bird in this series. Don’t know where they came from, or when they’ll run their course, but I feel like they are speaking for me. Speaking to us. Speaking for a reason to be revealed in time. All things are. Like flowers that come into our lives and bloom for a season.

For me, they have a transcendent quality.

Art will speak to you if you engage with it. Connecting with the mind and heart that brought it forth completes the circle of creation. A Divine gift. Put down your device and look at the beauty all around you with marvel and gratitude.

Art has the power to pierce our inner being like an arrow. It can please or provoke. It can dredge up childhood memories or remind you of a loved one. Art can heal.

Encountering an original painting in a gallery or museum can make you shriek with joy, cause you to shiver with goosebumps or weep. I know, I have seen it happen. I’ve gotten shivers up my spine unexpectedly coming across an Andrew Wyeth, egg tempera. It just hits you to the core.

You may learn something about the artist, medium, or technique, and  you may learn more about yourself. As the painter, I know this to be true.

My life of painting has been one of self-examination. Exploring life’s deep mysteries, using nature as my ride, feeling the call to be authentic.

Yet, it seems that when I think I know myself, when it matters most, old fears derail me and I retreat to my easel. The amygdala is a real bitch sometimes.

Fear is insidious. It begins with a single little thought. Unexamined, it can couple with your imagine, grow and influence your actions and behavior. One day you may find yourself sitting in the ashes, wondering at what point did it all start to go sideways. Daily vigilance against the old enemy is vital.

You need something stronger than fear in your life to believe in, to trust in that is everlasting. Something that gives you courage, hope and peace of mind.

For those who practice it, this is the Lenten season. I am on a 40-day fast. Forty-six years ago, I made a 180-degree turn in my life and became a new man that became an artist. It’s time to make another turn.

One day at a time. Today at my easel I’ll be painting another white bird, and in my life, trying to bring beauty, light and hope to a troubled world. Countering fear by sowing seeds of beauty and love against ugliness and hate.

What will you do?