The Vale of Tears and Pain



The Vale of Tears and Pain
14” x 20”
Acrylic on paper


For a good part of my life I wanted to be a writer. I molded fictional worlds and created characters out of dialog and thoughts. Many, many short stories and novels were envisioned; some even finished.

But it wasn't until I became a visual artist that I could fully, quickly express myself and complete pieces of work. Color and texture replaced plot and chapters.

I painted "Vale of Tears and Pain" this week in a few sessions. Texture from acrylic mediums, tissues, and papers became the storyboard to which I added warm colors. For me, painting is the best medium I have found to express myself. I really love the simple materials, paper and paint, and a few tools, palette knife, 2" brush, so hands and eyes can create a dance, releasing emotions.

When too much time has elapsed since I painted, as is the case now, I delight and learn anew how precious this form is and wonder why I neglected it. Bookbinding requires design and planning. Painting requires intuition and spontaneity. Hooray for not thinking so much!

New Journal and Comfort

Here is a new journal I made myself a while back. I used the sewn-over-tapes binding style while trying leather straps, a circle cut from one of my acrylic daily paintings, and a button that seemed to belong. Instead of hiding the title and author, I left it intact.

Like the other Full Tilt Boogie journals, it has a mix of papers—calendars, cards, old magazine articles and covers, my photos and art, book pages, and various art papers.

Any artistic inclinations have been pushed aside the last several weeks as I’ve been dealing with my husband’s most recent health issues. How do you find comfort in times of high stress? Recently, I’ve turned to old books (Anne McCaffrey’s Dragonriders of Pern series) and a new DVD (A Celtic Pilgrimage with John O’Donohue).