Awakening to possibilites

"AS I AWOKE" 60" x 48",  oil on canvas, 2010 by Debra Clemente

My recent painting "AS I AWOKE" was an exciting discovery for me on several levels. As I have changed the way my life is directed I am as well applying these lessons to my painting process.

When I began the painting, I knew not where the adventure would lead me. I thought it might be a large colorful abstract. As I have as yet to paint a full fledged abstract, I found myself seeing and developing possibilities in the patterns of colors I was laying down upon the canvas, much like how one discovers shapes in the clouds which appear to be more than random puffs of air. My level of energy and enthusiasm to discover the treasure that lay within remains evident in the painting as one can see where I scratched through the paint revealing wondrous hidden color suggesting the grasses and sunlight on the hills.

I have found that when I have something so specific in mind at the start I often struggle and agonize to "get it right" and yet at other times wonderful paintings seem to "fall from the sky" onto my canvas within a relatively short time. Not long ago I believed that blood, sweat and tears was the only valid avenue of art creation. I didn't give full credence to these works that flowed with ease from my imagination which is indeed a gift from God. I am consciously working on painting through a higher level unconsciousness, desiring Spirit to work through me and not fight the flow with my own preconceived ideas.

It's a delight to share with you.