Description
24″ x 30″ abstract acrylic and oil pastel on canvas
“Someone I loved once gave me a box full of darkness. It took me years to understand that this, too, was a gift.” — Mary Oliver
I love this poem so very much, and it is the inspiration for this piece that I also love so very much.
There are so many ways we can be hurt and suffer, and it’s a guarantee in life. But if we stay open, there is so much joy and grace that can be found through and on the other side of those tough times. Often those things shift the course of our life so profoundly we realize we would never be in this better place now if not for the painful bumps along the way.
This piece could be taken very literally with the play of light and dark colors. But in the bigger picture, most paintings don’t even work without some balance of light and dark, so it’s very much reflective of life.
I had an absolute party creating this piece, embracing the dark, the light, and all the unexpected bumps along the way, including thinking it was done but dropping a very wet paintbrush from another project on it. This painting had its own adventure in mind and I was just along for the ride!
