The Sweet New Year of Art

"One"
6x12
acrylic on panel
email to purchase

I'm not sure many of my readers know that I am Jewish. Though I feel that spirituality and religion have little to do with each other, I do enjoy the rituals of my faith. September brings in Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. This is not a time for champagne and confetti but rather a time for reflection and renewal. We look at our lives, make amends and positive changes. Optimism is the focus as we wish each other a sweet new year.

This year I take this concept very seriously. Much happened over the summer to shake up my world. Let's just say the turkeys are trying to get me down. The details aren't important but the need for a new direction is clear. At first I was unsettled and frankly disheartened but then something interesting happened. Slowly I felt a building of desire and the excitement of a challenge that I hadn't felt in a long time. It's sink or swim time, guess which one I'm picking?

The above painting is a good example of this paradigm shift. Texture was always something I adored in art but my work had little. Obvious ways of adding texture never worked for me. Boredom was setting in and this was dangerous. Instead of continuing with the obvious route I took a chance and added texture on top of my under-painting and then washed tone on top of that. This could have destroyed the entire work. Instead it filled me with wonder and allowed the colors painted on top to find their own place to sit. It was as if "One" had a life of its own making decisions without me. Creation became mysterious once again. A new year began.

"One" has been entered into Gallery 50's current show that opens this Friday night. In Soulful Studios' world it has already won a prize. Let's see if the judges agree.