top of page

Let it be...

"What I love most about painting abstract is it's innate problem solving nature and the challenge of making reactionary decisions in hopes to achieve a little slice of beauty." - Britt Bass Turner

When I saw this quote late last week from a painter in the Atlanta area that I love (check her out at www.brittbass.com) it was like a big, ole sledge hammer that hit me right over the head. I'm going to be honest, I have wondered just what it is in the process of painting abstract that I love. I can name a few things but this... this was it.


You see, I'm naturally one of those people that can see what's broken - in business, in plans, in strategy. I see gaps, connecting points, a really big spider web of how everything fits together and when there is a hole, I see it. But its truly not in a negative way (even tho it can be perceived that way at times) - it is all in service to make things better; to make things beautiful; to help someone get that much closer to what they want, desire, that big great outcome they are looking for.

These two paintings were a testament to that. I'm new to this whole thing and I decided I wanted to make two pieces that would work together. So I set out - no plan - allowing the whole thing to be as organic as possible. I kept adding and adding (activating the canvas is what they say in the art world) and I hated them. So much so that I nearly threw them in the trash.


I left them for weeks and weeks and weeks... never having the guts to toss them.

And then after a little time - and a little inspiration - I came back ready to "solve the problem." I let go of them being a pair. I tried a few different techniques and got two very different results.


Results that I loved.


I'm learning that there are a lot of things that we need to start. We need to activate the canvas and then we need to let it be - give it a chance - give it some time - go gain some perspective and come back when we are ready to take a stab at it again. We just may find that something really beautiful comes out of letting things be while in process.

34 views2 comments

Recent Posts

See All
bottom of page