Friday, September 10, 2010

release

I was angry the other night. I mean, really angry...fit to be tied, as they say. "Incredible Hulk" angry. Anyone who knows me knows that this is not the norm. I am typically a fairly laid-back, happy person...but I am a human being, and humans do get mad. Sometimes they get so mad that their neighbors might wonder if they're actually living next door to a lunatic. Anyway, after I was through ranting and raving, it dawned on me I hadn't yet painted that day, so I marched myself right up to my studio. I stood in front of the easel with my trembling hands and looked at the placid Buddha painting I've been working on. "Not tonight," I thought. I took out a piece of primed paper and attacked it. I filled it with slashing strokes of different colors, jagged and fully charged with the primal emotions running through my veins. I let the anger run its course, and then I enjoyed the sensation of release. I'm quite sure that piece will never be finished and it will never see the light of day, but it was important for me to get those feelings out of my system...and I am grateful to have an outlet that is both immediate and constructive.

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