A Little Grit Never Hurt Anyone, only Smarted...

"BEYOND ANTELOPE CANYON"
Navajo Nation,

Page, Arizona

Oil on Canvas with Grit
(Private Collection)

Every painting holds a piece of its circumstances. Some more than others...
From its conception, this image was a challenge. Living in Sedona at the time with a man whom I was busily completing my masters in "ridiculous relationships," we drove to Page, Arizona for a creative retreat. While he was setting up a photo shoot in the famous slot canyons (along with hundreds other tourists) I settled in nearby to capture this image with the brush.

The day was clear and beautiful, however, the wind proved daunting as it barreled down the canyon in angry gusts, forcing me to clutch onto the easel and painting for dear life while the maelstrom passed. Little did I know that a storm cloud was gathering in the slot chambers where my companion was becoming frustrated with traffic passing through "his" photographs, kicking up dust, bumping into him. In a brave moment, I dared release hold of the painting to step back for perspective... and the wind exploded in force, sending my easel, pallet and painting flying.

Just as a peanut butter sandwich must necessarily land face down, so too do wet paintings. My beautiful new canvas now encrusted with lovely red sand. Crestfallen but maintaining humor, I retrieved it and began to pack up. Better to let the painting dry and recover it later.

It would be several years before I would touch that image again. Long enough to find some perspective in the horrendous hours that followed its symbolic fate... long enough to forgive myself for getting into that relationsoup, along with owning the ridiculous choices that led up to it... long enough to appreciate the good things of that day like the warmth of the Arizona sun, the beauty of the place... and certainly the freedom to find my own wisdom and make mistakes.

Sometimes we have to push life to the limit in order to know where the boundaries are and in painting, as in life, this may require that we pick ourselves up on occasion, dust off the grit, and continue finding our own true path.