Surprises

Surprises are fun. There are some times, when my soul says paint, and I have no idea what to paint, so I ask the canvas or paper to help express what I believe the page wants me to express. I try to concentrate on the colors and the movement, and just focus on releasing the painting buried on the page.  I know it sounds a bit crazy, but here are a few examples. I didn't know what I had painted until I left the painting for a while and came back and viewed it. The painting would then reveal itself to me. This first painting I entitled "Female Jogger". When I painted this painting, I had no idea I had painted a jogger. It seemed as the painting was progressing to be trees and sandhills, but I wanted to be led to the final result, and I was. I was shocked to see the image of a jogger, but that is what I saw when I returned to the painting. A nice surprise. This painting has been one of the favorites of the literary magazines, it has been published in at least two different magazines.

The next painting was one where I again was more concerned about movement and color, than actually painting some image. But it was my son, who saw this one, and pointed out to me what he saw. My son, who is disabled, asked me, "Why I painted Jesus shocking people". I told him I didn't paint that, but he pointed out what he saw, and I guess then I saw it too, except I don't see Jesus, I see a woman. But we entitled this one, "Touched by the Spirit", though he thought it should be entitled, "Shocked". But again a nice surprise.

The same thing with this painting,but after leaving it and coming back to it, all I saw, and still see are elephants. Elephant eyes, trunks and ears, everywhere I look in this painting. I asked one of my brothers what he saw, and he said, "colors". I said "no elephants". Looked at the painting, looked at me and said, "I always knew you were crazy." That may be, But I still see elephants, thus the title of the painting. And again a nice surprise.