Chi Filled, The Flowers Re-Turn

When this painting began to appear on the paper, I must admit that I had some resistance to it.  I had pretty much abandoned painting flowers two years ago, or maybe it would be more accurate to say that the flowers abandoned me.   So I was surprised a few months ago when all I could see emerging in the initial abstract start of a painting was flowers - big bold colorful flowers. Did I dare pursue it?  And if I did decide to “go there”  how would my current painting habits and my past topic mix?  Would it be possible to incorporate text into my painting?   Could I make symbols?   Would I be able to justify a re-turn to flowers?   Well, why not try it and find out. 

            I had a great time painting this.  And after a few sessions I stopped working on it and waited about a month or so before finally deciding to sign it.  You know, painting with acrylics on paper opens the way to many layers of paint and endless revisions.  When to stop can become problematic.  Making an adjustment often leads to another and another and another ad infinitum until you end up with a totally different painting.  So it was a great moment for me when I was able to acknowledge that I liked this painting just as it was and that I needed to seal the deal by signing it. 

When it came time to give this painting a title, I thought about the ways this floral was different from those I had done before.  The flowers, though completely imaginary, seem far more robust than any that have appeared in my earlier paintings.   I like to think that, like me with my 3 yrs of Chi Kung practice, “These flowers have been fertilized with Chi!”

Hopefully, this is the beginning of a series of new florals.  We’ll see how things develop!