These last few weeks have been better than the previous month. It was my son in laws birthday, my grandson got married and my granddaughter continued to follow in her dreams of becoming a teacher. It has been nice to see that while so many others have their life on pause. My family and loved ones still continue to blossom. Like the flowers on the verges that were unkempt during the lockdown, they continued to bloom and grow as the rest of the world shut down.
I continued with my marketing course and take even more steps to develop myself as they have. Working on building my website and my following on social media, if I cannot interact with people outside I will do my best to keep that same flow of love and energy from them online. It has been important during this pandemic to not become left behind. I do not live too far from my daughter and so it was normal for us to spend time together and see each other often. Not being able to do that has been strange. But it has made the moments we have together now a lot more special.
At this time it’s easy to shut down and shut out friends and loved ones. To get caught up in the negative energy this lockdown has brought. This is why I have tried to check-in and talk to my friends as often as I can, if not more often than I previously did. Knowing how beautiful interaction is and how important it is to our lives has shown me a value of friendships that I knew, but maybe on a deeper level took for granted.
As an artist who paints landscapes and seascapes, the idea of being inside all the time stifles me. I need to be in nature. It rebalances me, settles me and heals me. It is a balm that surrounds me, each element with its own distinctive salve. A breeze fills me and brings life to my chest, the sun gives heat and soothes aches while the smell of the ocean and the feel of the spray reaffirms my place in the world. The power of the sea, the beauty and the danger of nature ground me in my reality. It is not that I am able to capture it when I paint. It is that I am unable to not capture it. Who wouldn’t want to harness nature and have it in their home? My art is an attempt to capture that scene or moment and take it with me or give it to you.
It is why art makes such a good gift, it cannot be finished, it is never out of fashion and it will never run out of use. Just like you can never get bored of the view from the top of a hill. You cannot be bored with looking at art. Each time you notice something different, the same as if you were returning to the same place each day. Noticing new details you missed the day before, finding new things to like and even dislike. Developing new respect and understanding of why the world looks the way it does.
An artist never wants to keep all of their art, its purpose is to bring joy to others. To give them the feelings the artist experienced while creating the piece. Remember that next time you purchase or make art for yourself or for anyone else.