Overpainting the lilies

I'd been struggling with this lily painting for nearly 20 years and just never got it to turn out the way I wanted to so today I decided I needed a fresh approach.

Instead of trying to MAKE it do anything I'm just relaxing into the paint, thinking less and painting more. It's very relaxing to free yourself and just let the work happen without worrying about the outcome.

I'd been going at it with some painting knives recently and decided to reach for some brushes instead.

Red, Yellow, Blue and an unbleached white were the only colors I used today along with a 1 inch, long handled brush.

It was interesting to see the painting submerge itself and begin to sink below the new paint. I can't wait to see what will come to the surface next! Each session is an adventure and I'm sure the end result will be a pleasant surprise to all of us.

There are no words

Painting over other paintings

I'd done this painting years ago in response to the horrors they were reporting on the TV news. Sometimes when there's nothing I can do about events themselves I can paint and that helps me process the emotions I'm going through.

Needless to say I don't always want these paintings around with all that powerful negative energy inside so I'll often paint something positive on top of it as a filter
or a safety valve.

This one is getting a sunflower to show that good things can (and often do) grow
from tragedy and loss so you see this is much more to me than a simple floral painting. It's a shout out at the world that says "no matter what we're still growing and something good will come of it."