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Posts Tagged ‘Islands’

Retreat

Posted in Quote, Recent Paintings, tagged , , on March 10, 2017| Leave a Comment »

Nowhere can man find a quieter or more untroubled retreat than in his own soul.

— Marcus Aurelius

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I am not sure that I am 100% sold on these words from Marcus Aurelius.

I think it’s a wonderful idea to think that you have the ability to retreat to an inner sanctum of peace, a safe haven that isolates you from the troubles and turmoil of the outer world. But is it so? Can you retreat inward and leave the outer world behind?

Can you climb onto that island and pull up the ladder behind you?

I think there must be folks who can do this, can block out the world and find the tranquility of the soul described by Marcus Aurelius. I think they must be either much more evolved than me or foolhardy because I’m just not sure that it’s in me at this point.

I would love to set my worries, fears, and furies adrift and climb that ladder, never to see them again.

But that’s not the way I am nor is it the way of the world.

Chaos finds a way of always drifting back to our shores.

But maybe this island of retreat is not about completely isolating oneself, not pulling up that ladder forever.  Maybe it’s in climbing up for a brief period of time to discover those moments of silence and absolute stillness that allow those wounds inflicted by the world to heal.

The world is still out there and will soon return but perhaps there is balm in the quiet of the present moment.

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The painting here is a new 6″ by 12″ canvas that I am calling Retreat.

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Purified Solitude

Posted in Quote, Recent Paintings, tagged , , , , on July 11, 2016| Leave a Comment »

GC Myers- Purified Solitude smSolitude is the place of purification.

–Martin Buber

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I have found myself painting quite a few islands lately, much like the one shown here in this new piece.  This small 12″ by 6″ painting on canvas is titled Purified Solitude and is part of my show, Contact, at the West End Gallery which opens on July 22.

Maybe the islands have come about because they are simply interesting compositional elements.  But part of me thinks it’s most likely an emotional response to the tensions of the world, an inner desire to pull away and find some peaceful solitude in a place where the bang and thrum of the outer world can’t reach me.

Of course, that is only possible on a short term basis.  We are formed in this world and are part of this world and can never fully break away.  The world is always with us.  But those moments when I find myself on that island of solitude do much to reinvigorate me, to make me feel strengthened to come back into the world once more.

That’s what I see in this little piece– a temporary refuge where the light can fully surround and cleanse me, purifying and washing away the confusion, the anger and the despair that builds up after time spent in this world.

Thankfully, I know that island is always there, waiting for me to arrive.

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