I’ve long been a believer that we get signs from God that steer us in one direction or another. I call them “God nods”. There have been several nods from God as relates to my art career, the most significant ones being those that led me down this art journey initially. But, there was one this week that rivals those in importance.
First, a story from my childhood is necessary to put everything into context. When my Mom’s sisters would gather for a family reunion or during the holidays, stories from their childhood were told…often the same ones. Funny how we all never got tired of hearing them. Many were tales of the haunted house my uncle lived in, and the ghosts that graced its presence. Some stories I’ve remembered, and some I’ve surely forgotten. But one has remained in the forefront of my memory since I was a young child…a story about one of my relatives, now departed, and his encounter with one of the spirits that visited the house he lived in. One day or evening (I’ve forgotten that detail), he witnessed an object fly in through his window. I don’t remember if he gave a description of the object, but I do remember what he named it, which led my mind to formulate my own vision of what it may have looked like. He called it “a four-wheeled concern”. Naturally, my vision of it had four wheels, but for some reason, I imagined it looking like an old wooden child’s toy with the head of a duck on it. Strange, I know, but that’s where my mind went. Sean, my son, told me just this week that he imagined it to look like a wooden wagon. At any rate, after this object toured the room he was in for a bit, he told it to “Get on outta here”, and it rolled back out of the window through which it first entered.
Fast forward to the present time and some observations about my art journey. When I first started painting, I wanted to paint anything and everything. Anything beautiful…landscapes, seascapes, floral paintings, people, pets, wildlife. Didn’t matter…I was drawn to a variety of subjects. Looking back, I think that’s because I wanted to learn the techniques to paint anything I wished. As I developed these techniques and grew in my knowledge and skills, I found that I was drawn to painting spirits…exploring with paint on canvas the connection of the physical and spiritual worlds and the bonds those of us here have with those who have departed this world for the spiritual realm. My painting, “Forever Faithful”, of the little boy with his spirit beagle is probably my favorite of anything I’ve painted thus far. It’s meaningful and emotional and, for me, makes the statement that those that we love, whether human or animal, remain with us in spirit once they’ve passed. I’ve also done several commissions featuring the spirits of those who have gone before that are meant to convey the same message.
As many of you know, I’m enrolled in the Milan Art Institute Mastery Program and am just about to begin the second section which deals, in part, with finding your style and your voice...the general message that you want your artwork to convey. Many that have completed the program, through self-reflection, have identified a personal symbol that they include, in one form or another, in all of their creations. I’ve been contemplating this and have been curious as to what I will identify as a personal symbol. During a conversation I was having this week with Sean, I was talking about my journey through the Mastery Program and mentioned that I was about to start on the “finding my voice” section. I told him I am keeping an open mind, but I thought my self-reflection may confirm what I think I already know…that I’m destined to paint spirits and show, through my art, the profound connections they have with us and the earthly world. I said maybe an angel would turn out to be my personal symbol. Then Sean asked me if I had seen illustrations of the biblically accurate depiction of an angel. I said I hadn’t, and he began to share photos that he had seen online with me. Most of the photos showed a being formed from intertwined circles, in the center of which was a glow…undoubtedly the soul. I was fascinated. One of the pictures showed an “ophanim angel” made of four intertwined circles. The meaning of ophanim, we learned during our conversation, is wheel. It follows, then, that the illustrations of the biblically accurate depiction of angel showed four wheels. This realization led Sean to say, “Mom…the four-wheeled concern was an angel!” I told him at that moment that I thought I had just found my personal symbol.
Perhaps this story has remained in my memory so vividly because it has always been destined to be a part of a later journey in my life…my art journey. The conversation I had with Sean and the thoughts and feelings that came after led me to contemplate more deeply the path that God has put me on. I immediately thought of the name of, and story behind, my studio. My Mom bought me my first set of brushes and paints and really thought I should give art a go. I didn’t stick with it when she was alive but found it again after she passed. Continually, since then, I have felt her leading me and often inspiring what I’ll paint. This feeling of her presence in my life still is what led me to the studio name “Inspired Brushworks”. There it is again…a connection between this world and the next…between me and my Mom…a connection that will live on until we are together again.
Another piece of the puzzle has fallen into place. Recalling vividly the story of the four-wheeled concern…recognizing the inspiration from my Mom in heaven…choosing “Inspired Brushworks” as my studio’s name…being drawn to paint spirits…identifying an angel as my personal symbol…all of these relate to connections between our world and Heaven. I may be wrong, and like I said, I’m keeping an open mind, but I think I may have already found the voice with which I’m destined to create and the message I’m called to convey. What’s fascinating to me is the convergence of all the God nods that led me here. Thanks for the nod, God. You’re amazing!