“Gifts”
(Acrylic)
Size: 90x120cm
ABOUT THIS PAINTING:
The painting “Gifts” was born from grief. It was started on the day that my partner
Stuart died. This was a sudden death and
unexpected. Below are photos that show
the progress of the painting as it evolved over time. The first (Figure 1) expressed my decision to
temporarily leave Australia and travel to India. I had been wanting to do this for about a
year, and this tragic turn of events, cemented this idea. The arabesques represent the exoticness of
Indian culture. The strong colour also
speaks of that culture.
Figure 1
My art therapy training has taught me that to
externalize my feelings will enable me to understand and process those
feelings. It is not that the feelings go
away, but rather, that a maturity evolves as a result of life’s adversaries
that enable one to move on in life. The
idea of erasing painful feelings like grief, which are part of life, is
naive. Humans (and perhaps all living
creatures) experience pain (either physical or emotional) for a reason. Pain conveys a message to the organism that
it is either doing the wrong thing and to stop doing it, like when you put hand
over a flame. Or as in the case of
grief, that something has been irrevocably lost that was of support to the
wellbeing of that person. The feeling of
grief is different to that of depression.
It is natural for a person to feel grief for the loss of a loved
one. It is thought that the grieving
process generally spansw about a year but it can vary between people and
cultures. Our western culture does not
encourage the expression of grief like other cultures. If one does not recognize ones grief and does
not express it, then the person may resort to the use (or abuse) of substances
to relieve that pain. This can underlie
addictions where the person is seeking relief from an emotional pain that they
do not fully understand.
It is generally thought that the bereaved person goes
through stages in the grieving process - sadness and numbness, then anger, then
acceptance and moving on. Theories differ
on the number of stages but generally the process is similar over all.
My experience as a qualified art therapist working
in Loss and Grief has confirmed this.
Figure 2 and 3 show my art making process and how
through elimination I finally arrive at the finished piece.
Figure 2
Figure 3
Artistic techniques used in the
painting:
The finishing
of this painting brought with it a certain resolution to my loss. During the time that I painted it, I contemplated
the “gifts” that I received over the time of my relationship with Stuart. I am not referring to presents that he gave
me but intangible gifts one receives through interaction with another. The “gifts” were painted in rich colours and
look a little like gems in a sea of aqua.
There is no attempt to make the forms recognisable. This is very much the style of my painting
throughout my art career. They are
undefined shapes that represent personal experiences, feelings and interactions
that I had with Stuart. The title
“Gifts” explains this. Those who have
been following my posts will have read the rationale behind my abstract
approach to painting. In this case it is
sincerity with a naked soul. I will
leave it at that today.
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