I came across a quote by Vincent Van Gogh today…one of those moments when words perfectly fit feelings.

“I dream my painting and then paint my dream.”

When I am painting, life around me ceases and I get lost in the world I am creating. It’s a fascinating world of things that intrigue me – vivid color, the play of light and shadow, human form and expression, the mystery of wild things and mystical creatures. They are all stirred together within my imagination. These things swirl inside my thoughts and dreams. The ideas simmer until they finally are ready to explode onto canvas. Converting emotions and moods into reality using the brilliant hues I love ~ I thirst for it. It’s always a process, and often a struggle, but I feel compelled to do it.

I have persistent whispers in the back of my mind about the different projects I’m working on; they push and pull me in search of color and creation. I try to paint several times a week, but there are days when I HAVE to paint. I need to get those whispers and ideas out and onto canvas. I need to help them begin their metamorphosis into becoming…

When I begin a painting I have a good idea about the subject and feeling I’m going after. I have learned not to plan the painting beyond the most basic aspects. By the time it is completed, it has always evolved into something much different from originally envisioned. Each painting takes on a life of its own.

The trick for me is learning to let those hidden and often unimagined scenes come through onto the canvas. Nature and Spirit have a way of weaving themselves into whatever I am creating. That sense of wonder and magic – the fantastic – that which is beautiful and sacred – these things appear in my paintings in ways I still don’t fully understand. Each painting I finish is a lesson. I’m learning new things, about technique, style, and myself, each time. The joy and surprise of what appears on my canvas has me completely hooked!