Painting & Life

"Best Date Ever", 16" x 20", Bonnie Joy Bardos

Our heart, when it breaks open, can hold the whole universe.

~ Joanna Macy

This painting is one I started working on one evening. As my favorite pieces are prone to do, it just 'happened'. Strands of Christmas lights around my old house kitchen were my only lighting, and create a magical feel, although it's too dim for painting. My new infrared heater helped warm the chill air, and the brushes kept saying 'red'. Blue. Yellow. The eyes delighted me: the slant of one, the look of imperfection. A bird cage disappeared under the yellow, the side table ghosted through. Cats appeared. People are going to think I'm a cat lady--although I only have one, she appears over and over. River Dog is taking a break: I'm paying him a model fee with homemade food this winter as we battle his kidney disease. I would do anything for him. He's with me every day, helping paint: and there's nothing more companionable than a snoozing dog in morning sunshine, the soft sounds of a brush caressing the canvas, birds singing, fish pond trickling, the heart tender and full.

Right now, I'm looking at the piece to see what it needs. Maybe a little deeper cobalt blue. Hmmmmm....I sits, I thinks. Such is life. Paintings are but a metaphor for life: they happen, sometimes they need a tweak, sometimes they sing with delight. Sometimes they have something big to say although they're deceptively simple. This one makes my heart sing!

(photo: starting a painting)