Thursday, February 9, 2012

Painting in flow

I have been shaking in excited anticipation for weeks.

Losing my painting virginity again after such a long period of celibacy feels exciting, not so scary.
I know I am in good hands with Flora Bowley... when the student is ready...

And she is the teacher for me. Her paintings speak to my soul - her use of colour, her imagery, her approach.
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Flora with her paintings - borrowed with gratitude from her website 

The first painting class she has us dripping liquid acrylics onto canvas and smearing with our fingers - no mind, just letting it flow.

How good this feels after my A-Level art training which removed any sensuality, and intuition from art. We had to plan and re-plan our art, until we were ready to commit the perfect finished work to canvas, by which time it had lost any spark, any life, its dynamism and freshness. We all fought this, perhaps me most strongly, but we had to show lots of preparatory material - that was the place for experimentation, not the finished piece - experimentation was for private, and ironically for the examiner - not for the wall and the viewer.

It was a bit like making love by numbers.

But here I am now. The music which I prepared for births with, flowing around me - flutes and whale song, swooping female voices singing out of the depths, de profundis. This is where all art comes from - words, paintings, music...

All my paints are lined up, pristine and inviting, with names to make you moist with anticipation - irridescent gold, shimmering copper, quinacridone maroon, phthalo blue, vermilion...

And so as my blood flows, my cycle has shifted to its intuitive stage, the painting starts - brave, intuitive, sensual painting - no sketches in sight, just me, the music, the paint and the canvas. The sensuous feel of paint between my fingers. The vivid colours dancing together as they conquer the white space. Swirling, joyous, dripping, flowing with the music. Flowing with the life force within me.

Why has it been so long? So long to break through myself, my blocks, my fears, my limitations, to reach the colour, the flow, the expression I have yearned for?  I could cry this feels so good!

8 comments:

  1. Congratulations! How wonderful that you have re-discovered this part of yourself!

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  2. Lucy this is lovely, congratulations on losing your painting virginity! I too did art at school and lost all enthusisasm in the overly-structured exam process and although I have dabbled since for fun I often hear that judging voice!! This is so inspiring, keep it up xxx

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  3. Good for you mama! Never to late to return home to any part of yourself.

    Much love x

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  4. This sounds like such an amazing experience, Lucy - I can only dream of feeling that free around art!

    Blessings, and thank you for sharing it with us

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  5. fabulous Lucy! i can almost feel the paint between my fingers, it must hva been sooo amazing, and freeing! (is that the right word?) well I've been reading your book, thank you for writing it! I have just drawn my crazy woman! scary! reminded me when i saw this post, mmm acrylics and canvas, she would love that!

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  6. Oh Mrs T - wonderful - well done for drawing her - dare you to paint her next - sounds like you want to!! Thank you for buying it... and reading it!

    Thank you all for your enthusiastic support.

    More painting this morning - grooving around the Tea House to the sounds of The Cat Empire - one of them seems to be emerging as peacock feathers - the other is a mystery!

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  7. Art School and design in the corporate world both do a number on the art space. So good to read a redemption story!

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