Painting to me has always been an escape. It can sometimes seem like time does not exist. The usual daily mundane doesn't matter.
It starts with colours. Shades that I need to see together. Sometimes it will be a place I wish to be. A quiet forest with a stream flowing through. Or images of animals that strike an emotion within me.
A herd of elephants in the colours of a sunset. A solitary stag with its strength portrayed in his antlers.
I used to worry about technique and not being good enough. Then I realized when I simplified what I was working on, I loved the image more.
It is not the details that matter; it is the idea.
I like to pass by a painting and look at it without focusing on it. Capture what it is in a glimpse.
Time changes things. Colours go from vibrant to more quiet hues.
It is what it is. A silent moment captured on a canvas.
Perhaps when I am gone, they will remain and pass along the emotion I felt when I created them.
I believe that is the true beauty of art.
It goes on.
Jolene’s art is available at the Nicola Valley Arts Centre.
