Whilst it might seem that I simply paint animals on recycled wood, there is always more to my animal artwork than meets the eye. In one way or another every single one of my wildlife paintings reflects something of what is on my heart at a given time.
Whether it's the characteristic of the creature I'm painting, it's stance or even its name, there's often a deeper meaning to the animal I'm creating. More often than not I'm not aware of this myself until part way through the process or sometimes even later. I think that's because there is something in the creative process (even in painting wildlife) that enables us to reach into those deeper places within us. Amazingly, creating artwork of any kind often bypasses our logic and enables us to get to the heart of the matter. Art therapy is amazing for anyone who is struggling with complex emotions.
Take "Barnabas" the hare for instance. As soon as I picked up this beautiful piece of reclaimed brown oak I knew I was going to paint a hare looking bright-eyed and alert. I could picture his stance and his ears pricked listening for even the smallest sound.
After picking his name I discovered that the name "Barnabas" means "son of encouragement" and it wasn't until I chose the name that I realised my heart was in serious need of some encouragement too. But with so much criticism and judgement out there I needed to have my ears pricked up like Barnabas for the kind words that came my way, because so often I miss them.
There's a verse in the Bible which says the power of life and death is in the tongue. And its so true, our words can either tear a person down or build them up. And consequently, we can either build ourselves up, or tear ourselves down too.
During the most difficult seasons of life I cannot tell you how valuable the kind, affirming and encouraging words from good friends have been. And self-encouragement is really important too - I've been learning to start each day by encouraging myself that I'm doing really well and in the words the horse in Charlie Mackasey's book 'the Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse'... that "sometimes just getting up and carrying on is brave and magnificent".
This week is #worldmentalhealthweek and may Barnabas be a reminder to us all of how important encouragement is to our lives and for us to keep our ears pricked up and open to the kindness and encouragement that our hearts truely need need. #bekind
Comments