Sometimes it takes time for me to see how events in my life impact on my paintings. It’s as though I’m too close to my work to see the obvious.
As I studied this painting, still wet on the easel, I suddenly perceived ardent love. In the subtlety of colour and tone I could see tenderness and sensuality. The dramatic forms of the clouds evoked energy, movement and passion.
It reminded me of how recently, I noticed an almost imperceptible, yet highly significant change in the way my ten year old son looks at me when we part each day. Instead of that typical flurry of activity and a quick, preoccupied farewell, he now looks deeply into my eyes, searching for connection. Heartfelt love is palpable in his gaze.
In art as in life, love gives rise to beauty and compassion, to harmony and desire. It is not loud or brash, self-seeking or dominant. Rather, it is life-giving and affirming. Love can be as subtle as a gesture or as dramatic as giving up our freedom for another, it can be expressed through words and even the brush marks on my canvas.
By popular demand, Corinne has scheduled a second painting retreat in March