Sunday, September 10, 2006

Midnight Beauty

My artwork is my life preserver. Endless possibilities present themselves with each blank canvas ~ offering me simple joys only artists experience. August 2006 surrounds me with stifling heat and a panic I knew would come. Every parent knows it's inevitable ~ the day when your “baby” leaves home. Sure they left home for college. It’s not the same. She kept coming back. Then. But now she has moved out. Into an apartment all her own. Oh, sure, she’s 24 and I’ve enjoyed her company for way longer than many parents . . . but . . . but ~ just another year. What’s wrong with that?

Yes, she’s more than ready. But am I? I guess I don’t have a choice. I know I’ll be fine. I just am not sure of the definition of “fine” right now. I’m not sure of a lot of things right now. And you’ll say that’s normal ~ the empty nest syndrome.

Which reminds me . . . it was one of those God-things. As she was packing and we were going in and out of the house, she walks in holding an empty bird’s nest that she had found. Perfectly shaped. But empty. I held it in my hands for a moment, then placed it on a shelf in my living room where I can see it every day.

God’s message ~ loud and clear ~ give her wings.

So I did.

And so I paint. Today’s offering is a study of an iris from my huge flower bed of irises – I must have hundreds of plants – but to capture the color and attitude of a single iris is quite a challenge. I’ve just begun to explore their peculiar shape and regal stance.

Midnight Beauty
$75.00
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1 comment:

Anonymous said...

OK, so you made me cry with the bird's nest story. How wonderful is that. Yes, I'd bet it was a God thing for sure. Some wild turkeys passed through our yard last week, and my 10 yo son found a beautiful feather they left for us. He said, " It's magical, Mom!". I asked him how he knew that, and he answered, "Because I want it to be." I hope he always finds "magic" so easily in nature's gifts.