“Free to Breathe‘- At the West End Gallery- SOLD
My soul, be satisfied with flowers,
With fruit, with weeds even; but gather them
In the one garden you may call your own.
― Edmond Rostand, Cyrano de Bergerac
I tend to agree with the famous line from the poet John Donne that no man is an island, entire of itself. Every person, with only the most extreme exceptions, is in some way connected to the greater body of humanity, both contributing to and being dependent on it. The pandemic of the past year and a half has given ample evidence of our interconnectedness and interdependence.
Yet, I also believe that we need to have a refuge of some sort from being part of the whole of humanity. A place and time where we are sovereign and can feel, if only for a brief time, that we are apart from the thoughts, actions, and influences of others.
A place where we can air our ideas, thoughts, and dreams without the critical eyes, ears, and minds of others. A place where our responsibility is only to ourselves and our own wellbeing.
A place where we are free to simply breathe if that is what we wish. Or need. Sometimes a deep breath in the cool air of open spaces can make you feel like you are free of everything.
So, yes, no man is an island. But sometimes it does one good to be alone on one for a bit.
I wasn’t going to show this painting, Free to Breathe, here originally. It sold before I had a chance to write about it and I wasn’t pleased with my photography on this piece. It has tones of blue and green in it that don’t show well. I have difficulty capturing these specific combinations of colors with my own meager photography skills which is a shame because they often appear in my work. It is definitely one of those paintings, like quite a few of my works, that is quantitatively better to see in person. But I felt it deserved a few words since it’s a piece that I like very much and it carries message that is near and dear to my heart– that we all need space once in a while to think and create for only ourselves. Space to be the only one breathing the air around us.
Redtree Times 