Peaks and Valleys

Here is one of my recent paintings, "Peaks and Valleys," which was inspired by reading some of the life story of my new Facebook friend, Debra Oakland. Though she has lost a number of close family members, she explains how she has chosen to be happy and not remain stuck in grief and the pain of loss.

Interestingly enough, when I started out this painting, I enthusiastically loaded up the canvas with rather too much paint (some of which I transferred to another canvas - to be posted later). I had in mind some colors from looking at photos of a joyful occasion. In the process of working on this painting, however, the phrase - "oh, the jagged pain" - (or something close to that) went through my mind. This painting then became about my perception of Debra's experience.

Our lives here on earth really are characterized by both jubilant and sorrowful times - and everything in between. And sometimes, it really ain't pretty. I had the feeling that I muddied up the warm colors as I was mixing them, and pondered whether to "clean" them up some by adding another layer. In the end, I decided to leave it as it is. Life isn't perfect, but we still love it.

Looking forward to reading your comments and feedback on this new painting.