The Flow

The Flow 

 This morning I went for a walk with my friend ELH. I met her at 7:00 and our walk was delightful. Some of the things we discussed were botany, ornithology, psychology, theology, etymology, onomatology, poetry, beauty, history, inspiration in the creative process, authors Sayers, Lewis, Chesterton, poets Donne and Eliot ... and we only walked for an hour! True, we just barely touched on a lot of these things, but I find it so invigorating to see the scope of her interests. 

11" x 14"

Painted with the finest quality heavy-body acrylic paint on acid-free, heavy weight Fabriano watercolor paper

Ready to frame

Click here to view or purchase via my website.

As usual, I came away from my walk this morning with a lot to think about and a lot that I want to read again. (WHEN do people read, I wonder!? I do read, but I always feel like I am playing hooky when I am reading.) Our discussion about a degree of disagreement between Dorothy Sayers and C. S. Lewis had me wanting to return to those books and think through their arguments again. 

The water running through the marsh grasses and the sun through the trees were captivating, too. I was being stirred by the beauty around me. It wasn't exactly the kind of inspiration where time disappears and my painting starts appearing before my eyes, but it could possibly lead to that place. 

As an artist, I am constantly seeing and distracted by beauty in the most surprising places. (Right now, the shadows on our shed are mesmerizing.) But though these things fill my creative tank, they are not quite "inspiration" - the muse - the time where I cannot hear or respond to things because I am enthralled. I might find myself with my arms moving through the air as if I were describing something to someone, but there are no words in my mind, and there are no people to explain to. I might be walking back and forth between easel and doorway, looking through my lime green reading glasses with my head tilted to one side. And I probably will not hear you if you speak to me or call or text. 

With this blog post I am opening a window to part of my own creative process. As I dig and learn and practice more, I invite you to come along and, if you are so inclined, look for your own windows on your creative practice. I would be interested to find out what you are learning about it. 

Hebrews 13:20-21 (Amplified Bible) Now may the God of peace [the source of serenity and spiritual well-being] who brought up from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood that sealed and ratified the eternal covenant,  equip you with every good thing to carry out His will and strengthen you [making you complete and perfect as you ought to be], accomplishing in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.