It's finished!
When I began painting outside my journal, I found larger canvases intimidating. I limited myself to the smaller 8"x8" squares or 8"x10" canvas boards. I felt I had no talent, that I was wasting my money buying canvases for paintings that no one would like or buy. There's just too much space! What ever will I fill it with?
As my style has grown and evolved, I now understand how artists fill such large spaces:
Bit by bit.
Seriously! You just work on one corner, then another, and another, and pull it all together. That last part is hard, I have to admit, and I usually seek advice from others on what can be done to finish the piece. But when you do, oh, when you figure out that something that finishes it off....well, that is just golden. An addictive feeling of joy that has me stockpiling canvases in the studio for when inspiration strikes.
I usually pull things from my journals, mining those depths for fodder. What have I liked? What was fun? New? Colorful? Spoke to my soul? And onto the canvas it goes.
This painting was inspired by a poem I wrote about ants. Yes, ants! They found a crack under the windows at work and snuck in, eating pastry crumbs on the floor. After we "took care of them," I wrote this poem for them.
Sunshine bakes them
find a space,
sliver,
a crack,
softer, cooler air
invites them in new
sanctuary, intrudes
on those there
first, a dance
and lyrical voices
carry them away.
And now, I'm off to enjoy the last day of my August mini-vacation with a hike in the prairie with my journal.