a work in progress

I have added quite a bit to my artist statement and surprisingly enough, I am enjoying the task quite a bit. It is quite interesting for me to put into words the motivation behind my work and I finally understand the value of the artist statement as an extension of my work. It’s amazing what clarity acceptance can bring! Here’s my working draft of it. I hope you enjoy reading it and I welcome your comments and questions. Who knows, your ideas may be just what I need to hear to make my statement fully serve its purpose!

My work is an opportunity for me to integrate my creativity, insight, and passion in the creation of art which invites others to share my view that joy and contentment lie in the smallest details of everyday life. I am motivated by the process of discovery and I love problem solving. I am thrilled by the possibilities of visual metaphor and I am constantly challenged to explore fresh ways of looking and seeing.

When I am working in my studio, I am filled with a sense of connection, of the oneness of all. I lose all sense of time and find myself making decisions automatically, working almost from a dream state. I am continually surprised by the lengths of time which pass while I am painting. I feel no hunger or thirst, sense no tiredness, have no needs. It is a time when I am completely content. Gratitude is like that, too. It provides a sense of plenty, of all needs met. Gratitude is the key to my happiness and in my paintings I present a view of our world as a place of abundance. Beauty is where you look for it. A spoon in a bowl waiting to be washed holds a reflection of light pouing in through a window. A choclate covered cherry nestled in a paper cup iintrigues with it’s oozing, pink, sweet juiciness. A baby blue scooter sports a pair of downturned eyes and seduces with the look of a geisha. Light dances down a hundred year old stair case and invites you to ascend.

I have found that painting still lifes offers me opportunities not only to communicate the beauty in small moments, but also to explore my visual language. Working in a series of paintings of identical dimensions, I am able to deconstruct the elements of space and form which I am drawn to paint. Using pattern and repetition, I then assemble the collection of paintings into a composition that asks the viewer to consider the charm and femininity of the arc, the strength and hope of the line, and the idea that all that is is as it should be.

and I have taken this bit from my personal mission statement as a place to begin, “My work is an opportunity for me to integrate my creativity, insight, and passion in the creation of art which invites others to share my view that joy and contentment lie in the smallest details of everyday life.” I may leave it at that. I like how it sums up what I do and why, although I have a nagging feeling that I should say more. Perhaps, I’ll say something about my process or style. What would you like it to include?

36″ x 48″

Julie Jordan Scott is an author, actress, and life coach, creating a blissful life with her family and friends. She is a positive, friendly, and generous person whose writing I find inspriring. Julie is offering a free course in Passionate Prosperity, beginning February 27th. Click the banner above to check out her website, 5passions.com, and see how to enroll in her course. The world will be a much better place when we all embrace the reality of abundance and Julie may just be the right person to help facilitate your transformation. I’ve signed up and I am looking forward to some more of her uplifting writing and to connecting with a group of like minded individuals.
Here’s a little somthing I lifted from one of her blog entries to give you a taste:

“Sometimes awareness is like the slow, rolling boil of water as it readies to become my peppermint tea. Sometimes it is like the leaves budding and blooming and changing slowly to amber or yellow or burnished brown and finally returning to the soil only to leave even more bounty as it nourishes the grass and gives back even until it is “nothingness”. Sometimes it is like juice, sealed for years in big oak containers in carefully regulated cellars, slowly becoming wine.”