Start where you are.
After weeks of chilly weather, I housesit for my sister and summer comes. Late July. Sun. Blue sky. SPACE. And, late one night, the urge to create. But what? And how? I’ve travelled by train, have minimal art stuff with me. Just a few pencils. I look around.
A thank you story in end-of-school-term flowers stands vibrant on the kitchen table. ‘START WHERE YOU ARE, Sal,’ I say. So I do. I rummage in a downstairs cupboard, find a few acrylics, titanium-white oil and a pad of watercolour paper. I kneel on the kitchen floor for my preferred perspective, a bird’s eye view of what I’m making. The energy begins to rise. I mix colours on my hands, smear and smudge, draw into the brightness, build layers. Until the surge of flow subsides. Then, with more precision, I cut letters from a magazine, rest them on the picture for a little while. Temporary. Like everything.
The flowers have gone now too, but this picture, You Make Me Happy, will always zing (to me) of the night that we connected and I felt alive.
And then, keep going.
Returning home, I’m excited to make another joy experiment in flowers. I have a memory of tulips and lilies on my sister’s kitchen windowsill, against a sunset sky. This time I paint on canvas, a larger piece. It takes me several nights to get the vibe I like; the work is more controlled because the acrylics don’t run free like they do on paper. I try to channel the essence of what I want to convey. The potential for joy that I know exists within us, no matter what we’re dealing with on the outside. It does arrive. I call the painting Bloom.
Both these paintings have made me happy! Why? To create more tangibly joyful work feels positive at this stage of my life. Looking at the paintings, I see my bright spirit; it makes me smile. I’d like to thank the flowers. My way in to how. Offering me inspiration and beauty, but also understanding. Buds not yet open. Blooms starting to unfurl. Blossoms in their prime, or fading, beginning to die. But at their hearts (and this is their most joyful part!), new seeds are forever forming in the quiet.
*See Bloom at Bear Steps Gallery, Shrewsbury, 30th September to 12th October 2024, Shropshire Art Society Autumn Exhibition 10-4 each day (except Sunday, closing at 1pm on final day).
💛 SAL
#thejoyexperiments #SALchemy
I intend (one day!) to send word of new things to kindred spirits in a little 🌟 from SAL Note. Here’s the sign-up form to make it happen: https://eepurl.com/iAUwZQ ~ thank you. Or scan the QR code:
I’ll be glad if you share my creations. Please use short quotes from the piece if you like, but please link back to this page. For any other use, please ask me first.
Photographed with an iPhone the colours can be compromised and small amounts of cropping can occur. The real paintings speak more clearly; they look brighter in real life.
See the journey of my paintings and drawings over the years here.
Share art, share <3.
© Sally Townsend Blake 2024
