Seraphina

About 3 years ago I saw a news story online about a family in which everyone was killed- mother, children- except for the young girl, Seraphina. She survived because her older sister covered her as a human shield to the gun man (who I believe was an estranged relative).

She was the sole survivor. 

This story has ached upon my heart over the years.  Findind nothing to turn to in all of my googling but prayer, I still long to know that she's ok. In the current body of work that I'm relentlessly pursuing to finish for next week , you will find a painting attributed to her. Though I 

know it can't even begin to capture what she's been through- it is me (a stranger who is deeply longing for her well being)'s expression of empathetic grief over the situation.

Oh sweet child- may God give you much comfort and may love and peace abundantly surround you.

Rising from the ashes

The past sometimes haunts me. Mistakes I've made, hurts, people once so important in my life- no longer a part of it...

Experiences at a taste, smell or a glance of mistaken identity...

There was a time in my life when I indulged creatively in reliving these heartbreaks and letting the festering explode into catharsis...

But now, I have my family. God has given me an enormous gift.

Those shivers down my spine, old pains that somehow still hurt after all this time, unfinished stories...

They have become a distraction. They do not feed my hunger to create they just ache. They deter me from doing my work. What ambles up as emotional creative fodder splinters and breaks leading nowhere productive. Just that old pain relived again.

Now, I spill my heart as best I can, not to unrequited love, loss, heartbreak, or regret.

i aim to spill my heart upon much more deserving alters.

Sometimes there are sad aspects- but let  them not be of regret or loss from the now distant past. Let me grasp hold of the grace given to me and all the joys of my life. Let them not be overshadowed by painful memories or old heartaches. I have suffered them enough. The world does not need to hear about them anymore. And neither do I.

Reflecting- gratitude

I'm moved tonight.  Not in response to any particular event, just a general feeling of gratitude...

I create. I aim to pour my heart and soul into my works of art. They have all of my effort, my name, the name I've given them, but in a way they do not really come into their own until somebody wants them, loves them, has to have them. Then they become "yours" in a sense and in this way that makes it complete. 

Unless it's a commission, when I wrestled to find it in the studio, I did not know that it would be  "yours". I pour myself into these paintings and put them out there.

When they find their home, I'm not only glad to make a sale, but I'm excited because it has come full circle. It's beautiful and continually humbling.

To those who have supported me- thank you from the bottom of my heart!!!

To my collectors- thank you in that same way, but please know that you literally provided me the means to keep doing what I love and feel called to do and i am so very grateful.

Great idea

The "Before I Die" project...

http://candychang.com/before-i-die-in-nola/

Copyright for visual artists

This subject has come up several times over the past few months. Initially I wanted to post something about it, but did not because it can be an unpleasant subject. I'm going to be brave and put this "out there", because it seems to be something many people don't know about.

Now that its come up again and again, I desire to let people know that...

When an artist creates a work of art, they own the copyright of that work, unless otherwise specified in writing. This means that you cannot reproduce it without the artist's consent. It might be disenchanting for some people, but though you purchase a painting, photograph, sculpture, drawing, stained glass, etc, you do not own the rights to that image and there are legal limitations to protect the creator in how it is used and replicated.

There are some rather difficult scenarios that involve outdoor art and the necessity of it being relocated or work attached to a building after the building's ownership has changed hands or development plans.

In a recent headline- http://mobile.nytimes.com/blogs/cityroom/2012/04/23/at-kennedy-airport-an-artist-fights-to-save-her-sculpture/

For me its a little more basic. Nobody can use, replicate or copy my work without my consent.

On a positive note for my collectors-

I do not do prints. If you own one of my paintings you will only see it elsewhere on my website or used for publicity purposes. 

I believe this intrinsically adds value to owning an original piece of art.

See:

http://www.copyrightalliance.org/files/visual_artists.pdf

Let it go...

In the honor of a friend who has helped me out with several art events this past year and is the owner of "Anyone"

I have been working on a sister painting amidst my 3 current commission projects. I have written about "Anyone" in a past blog. The inspiration for this pieces is also derived from an e.e.cummings poem...

let it go – the
smashed word broken
open vow or
the oath cracked length
wise – let it go it
was sworn to
go

let them go – the
truthful liars and
the false fair friends
and the boths and
neithers – you must let them go they
were born
to go

let all go – the
big small middling
tall bigger really
the biggest and all
things – let all go
dear

so comes love

(amen)

Always beginning

“The artist is always beginning. Any work of art which is not a beginning, an invention, a discovery is of little worth.”

- Ezra Pound