… I said to my soul, be still, and wait without hope
For hope would be hope for the wrong thing; wait without love
For love would be love of the wrong thing; there is yet faith
But the faith and the love and the hope are all in the waiting.
Wait without thought, for you are not ready for thought:
So the darkness shall be the light, and the stillness the dancing.
-T.S. Eliot, East Coker, The Four Quartets
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I’ve been in a deep groove lately as I ready work for my upcoming June show, Part of the Pattern, at the Principle Gallery. Part of finding this groove was returning in the last month or so to process of transparent inkiness that marked the early incarnations of my work. An example of this is the piece shown above, a 6″ by 24″ painting on paper that I am calling In the Waiting, taken from the Eliot lines above.
The strength of this wet work, at least for me, is in the way the fluidity of the paint creates the tension and contrast that carries the emotional content of the painting. The duskiness where light and dark comes together is filled with the anticipation of all that is to come, all unknown to the waiting Red Tree who attempts to tamp down its desire to imagine what is coming.
The goal is to put aside any faith or hope or love –as Eliot puts it so beautifully– and simply await the inevitability of what is to come without thought. But that stillness of thought makes the waiting tolerable and allows us to view that which is before without the influence of our desire, to see things as they really are.
But as we all know, that is easier said than done…
This is wonderful. The painting’s a perfect pairing for Eliot’s lines. The water looks so placid, and yet the sky just behind the tree is filled with tunami-like waves of light: as though life itself is about to sweep over the little island.
Looking at it again, I’m thinking of “The Great Wave Off Kanagawa.” There are echoes, for sure.
I hadn’t seen or thought of that image when looking at this but I can see where you can connect this sky with the motion of Hokusai’s magnificent wave. Thanks for that new perspective, Linda!
Lovely ! I’m glad I found your blog. ^_^ The best thing I like about your art works is that they are always accompanied by write ups that explain how you painted or what it is about.so its easier to appreciate it for those who are no artists (like me) but love art and like to learn more about art.You have a great blog. I’m following you 🙂
Thank you, Akshitha. I am pleased that you will be following and urge you to comment whenever you so desire. All the best to you.
Yes,definitely..I will 🙂 Thank you. http://www.nonchalantutterings.wordpress.com/
Visit me if you can.And help me improve.I’m new here.I started blogging barely a month ago 😀