The Soul is Electric

Sometimes you make a painting that lights your soul on fire (it may also involve happy dancing around the house).

This canvas started off with a different painting on it which I wasn’t overly happy with so I painted over it. That base painting then sat around for awhile. I would periodically take a look at it trying to figure out what I wanted to put on it. Today was the day.

This painting was play, but it was also a challenge. Play because I didn’t know what I was going to do with this and I had given myself permission to experiment, and a challenge because I wanted to keep at least some of the base painting intact. I like painting because one can usually paint over a mistake. In this case there was less wiggle room for that and therefore I had to be very thoughtful before putting down a paint stroke.

Any time I paint animals I always start with they eyes. The soul is in the eyes and if the eyes don’t go on right then I keep at it until they do. After that its easy - just kidding! I went out of my comfort zone with the colours, phtalo blues and greens, cadmium yellows and violets. I played with dry brushing, glazes and a roller for texture. I had fun and I didn’t let myself get frustrated when things didn’t do what I expected them to do.

At the end of the day I think I ended up with a piece that is playful and it made my heart sing, which to me is a win.