When I set the theme for my solo show, Free Your Mind, I knew I wanted to paint some interpretation of vastness and possibility. And being a person who is drawn to wide open spaces, I felt like a “universe” image was perfect. I wanted to incorporate a human element in the painting to make the statement that we are all part of something bigger, that we are connected. I had a photograph we’d taken in August 2017 when the total eclipse occurred over the SC coast. In the photo my husband, son, and I are wearing our glasses gazing upward in anticipation. I remember how exciting that time was for everyone. I painted a rough sketch of those figures to start the piece. I filled the rest of the space with layers of color and texture to build interest—working dark colors to light. The pressed dot texture underneath kept my attention so much that I began thinking of Carl Sagan’s writing about the earth being such an insignificant, yet amazing blue dot.
“The cosmos is within us. We are made of star-stuff. We are a way for the universe to know itself.”― Carl Sagan
And that led to me bringing in additional lighter dots that appear to rain down on the figures in the foreground. They pull us into the whole experience. The immensity of how much we don’t know, the drive to explore and discover, and the acceptance that our time is so very short to do these things collide in this painting. Ultimately, I ended up lightening the sky as I completed the painting because I wanted to convey the feeling of beginning anew when we open our minds.
POR
- Current Location: Studio
- Collections: Free Your Mind Collection— March 2024