the story of us

September 10, 2017

There is usually a story behind every painting, isn't there?  If there isn't one I can articulate (yet), this probably means the story (that already existed to create the painting) isn't part of MY consciousness yet.

Well, this gal, here, had a story I was conscious of close to the beginning.

From those of you who follow my work, you probably have realized the titles are (almost) as important to me as the work itself.  The titles usually can be bridged to other, previous experiences that all were necessary to create the painting.

I never have a title and then paint from that mindset.  I tried that once (and only once).  It doesn't work that way for me.  If the title comes to me while I am creating the piece, it seems to come "out of the blue" (and from those of you who know me, know I don't consider this coincidence).

This is when I know to really pay attention.

Well, when I was about at this stage with this gal, I heard, "Free your mind, the rest will follow." And there was no rebuttal to be had.  As a side note: I do try to argue with what I hear sometimes.  Oh, and by the way, that never works either.

November 12, 2016

Now I don't have a playlist with this song by En Vogue from their album, Funky Divas (released in 1992) and I never had the CD.  But you can bet your bottom dollar I added it to one of my playlists (titled "empower me", by the way) as soon as I heard these words.  I really had no recollection what this song was about.  But, after listening, I heard, "...strong black brothers", "Before you can read me you gotta learn how to see me".

Hmmmmm....good to listen to those messages that seem to come "out of the blue".

So here this gal is, reminding me to free my mind.  Because, I believe it's an inside job first (get my drift)?

Free Your Mind, 24x18, acrylic on canvas, 995.

As a post script, I think the dates are extremely significant.  Free Your Mind was in the beginning stages on November 12, 2016 and was finished on January 9, 2017.

Thank you for reading.