Elusion

Elusion

a new painting, butterflies and memories...

It's been a long time since I posted a new painting, for the simple reason that I've been going through a bit of a block since the new year began. It's actually funny to think that I started the Artist's Way (a book about creativity and overcoming blocks) as part of a group reading on the first day of the year and have been blocked ever since, even though I wasn't before... I do have several paintings in progress but they are still hanging in their awkward teenage phase. Although I know by now that I need to trust this journey and be patient, it feels good to work on a painting that starts with a clear vision and just seems to naturally "emerge". There are things for which we struggle and doubt, and others that seem to manifest themselves of their own accord, as long as we show up and do the work. Things that we can't seem able to grasp, like so many elusive butterflies...

This painting, "Elusion", was first inspired by a friend whose beloved grandma has Alzheimers. I am very lucky to have amazing grandparents, with whom new memories are being born every time we visit, and I can't even begin to imagine the sense of loss that she must feel. Memories, loving memories are so precious and yet so fragile and intangible. The memories of our childhood, the memories of our kids' childhoods, the memories of our own awkward and passionate teenage phase... Sometimes, a smell, a color, a song or the pattern of a dress will suddenly bring us back in time for a split second, with a rush of raw emotions. These are precious gifts, little miracles. But so many others, inevitably, fly away from us, and the more we try and struggle to catch them again, the more they elude us. And we have to let them go, and to trust that life will bring many new treasured moments. My grandparents are two lovebirds who have "their song", a beautiful french song about memories being like butterflies. I have incorporated words of that song in this painting, which is dedicated to them from the bottom of my heart.