People are like stained glass windows: they sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in their true beauty is revealed only if there is a light within.
–Elisabeth Kübler-Ross
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A number of years ago, I came across this quote from Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, the famed psychiatrist who pioneered the study of death and dying and introduced the Five Stages of Grief to us.
Her words really struck a chord, for the human aspect as well as for the parallel I drew from it for painting. Creating paintings that felt as though they were lit from within has long been an aspiration for me and I had never realized that there seemed to be connection between that desire and my personal desire to be a decent and caring person.
But her words kind of put those two things together in my mind. I began to see that my painting was a reflection of my aspirations. That might not seem like much of a revelation but it certainly felt like one when I first read those words. The work felt even more personal to me, more tied to my own character. I felt that if I could continue to work hard at my work I could apply the same sort of effort to being a positively charged person and hopefully the two would someday merge together. I don’t know if that’s good or bad but it became how I perceived what I was doing.
On the painting side, sometimes I hit close to my goal as far as feeling a painting is lit from within. The piece at the top, a new 12″ by 24″ canvas, is such an example. It just feels as though it has that inner glow I am seeking. It is titled, fittingly, Light Within.
The personal side will take a little longer. But this gives me some hope.
Redtree Times 