Laly Mille • Mixed Media & Art Journaling Online Classes

View Original

A Secret Garden

A Secret Garden

Do you sometimes feel like there is magic in the air? Like anything you can dream of is actually possible? Do you sometimes feel so inspired by the inexplicable beauty of Nature that your heart can hardly contain it all?

I do. Whenever I take a moment to pause, breathe and let it all in. Whenever I remember that the cold and darkness of Winter are essential for life to bloom in Spring. Whenever I tend to the Secret Garden inside my soul.

This feeling of magic, this childlike wisdom is what my latest painting is all about. Every layer of it is infused with this sense of wonder and joy that you can't really put into words, but that you can feel in your heart, if you just let it in.

I had started this painting (my biggest ever) last summer, but somehow it got stuck for a while. I don't worry too much when this happens because I've learned to trust the ebb and flow of the creative process, so I put it aside for many months while I was busy with other projects. I think it needed this time to rest and mature, and finally last week it called to me again, ready to fully bloom!

Only when it was complete did I realize how long it had been since my last, large painting: over a year! I could hardly believe it but it's the truth. The past year has been so busy and transformational, what with teaching and so many of other things, that my art practice changed and slowed down for a while. I expected it would, but what a relief to come back to the easel and immerse myself in this piece for days, what a joy to bring it to life.

Here are a few images of the first steps the painting went through, the first layers of color and collage (click to enlarge):

The book, The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett is one of my absolute favorites. I read it again last year, and we recently read it at bedtime with the kids and watched the movie too. It is so full of magic and wisdom.

This is such a large painting that it really feels like "a place" more than a picture. It's like having a garden in the house, or a large window overlooking this ever-blooming, magical world where dreams do really come true, if you believe in them with all your heart.

I guess that's where the Internet reaches its limits, and I so look forward to exhibiting this piece very soon, so that others can experience it in person. In the meantime I hope you enjoy the close-up pictures!

The painting will be listed on my site in a little while (we're actually preparing a brand new online gallery/shop!) and in the meantime you can contact me directly for enquiries. Thank you so much for spending this time in the garden with me!

 

Light and Love,

Subscribe to my newsletter to be notified when I post new artwork and updates:


More Art & Stories:

See this gallery in the original post