"Nature's Dream"
August 2022
Acrylic Gouache on Paper
Image: 15.5" wide x 15" high
Paper: 20" wide x 15.5 " high
In early 2020, I felt the need to take a break from painting.
I felt burned out and bored of painting on paper, which I'd been doing for about 17 years.
I also had severe back pain from the constant bent-over position I took while painting.
I wanted art to feel fun, again.
During this time I started exploring digital art.
Digital art was a life-saver for my creative spirit, and enabled me to keep creating in a fresh way while taking care of my body.
For a while I wasn't sure I'd paint on paper again, but I felt I would trust whatever direction my art told me to take.
I recently felt a pull to return to painting on paper, and this image is what emerged.
I wanted to share some thoughts behind this piece, if you're interested!
A few months ago, I got into something called Process-oriented Therapy, also known as Process Work.
The point of Process Work is that we are constantly in a state of process. Evolving, flowing, ever-changing and shifting.
Process Work has helped me to begin trusting the essence of who I am, as well as the flow of my emotions and feelings.
It's also helped me navigate the language of my dreams and understand dreaming in a wider context.
I don't over-analyze the images that come out of me as I paint.
I just let them flow out of me, freely, as they want to emerge.
As I finished this piece, I got the feeling that this is an image of this flower's dream.
It dreams of the creatures that have crossed its path, and of the creatures it might meet tomorrow.
It dreams of the ever-evolving life that surrounds it -
The community of nature, shining, growing, dancing, laughing, shifting and changing in the expression of their unique life force.
It dreams of the moon and stars above it, always guiding and protecting.
And even though it is just one flower in an infinite growth of life, through its dream, it is connected to everything that is.
Your dreams connect you to the deepest part of who you are,
And our dreams connect us.
They remind us that we are one.
That we share the same consciousness with each other,
and with our Earth.
Even though you can feel like one solitary human,
Insignificant, alone,
Please remember that you are always held
In a vast, infinite and intelligent awareness.
There is a force within you
That wants to move through you
And knows where your life will go.
Just as a seed contains the memory of its final form
You are being shaped and grown into who you will become.
Trust your connection
To your self, and to all things.
And most of all, may you have beautiful dreams.
For your self, for your community, and for your planet.
If you feel a connection to this piece & what I shared, and
would like to support me in my work, you can purchase this original painting below:
Prices include shipping to the US.
If you're purchasing Internationally, please send me an email here for a special check out link!
Thank you always for your appreciation and support.