Surrealism: Alaina (Harmony)
Around April of this year, there was a call to artist for an local exhibit of an emerging group of artists: I didn’t hesitate to communicate with the curator to participate. The call was to create a piece based on the feeling of healing, faith and hope. Piece to be exhibited at the annual Alive Art exhibit. The dead line to send the preliminary view to the curator was in four weeks.
While I was sketching the idea, got a little bit out of my comfort zone, and included landscape, water and surrealism into my piece.
So I meditated and transported myself to a magical place where the earth meets the soul and all becomes one. My unconscious mind suggested an image of balance and harmony, because when we achieve that state of mind we heal.
Since the concept depicts a woman, I searched up for a name that had the same meaning and found Alaina. The name Alaina is a name of Irish origin meaning ” :harmony”.
Choosing out of comfort elements for my painting; aware that the process was going to take longer than other paintings. Quickly started working towards the first deadline for the curator to see the progress of the piece. While recording this short video of my process on working the back ground; I Put my brushes down to step into the house, to check on my cooking, and started playing with the kids, laughing and being silly; Suddenly the unexpected happen.
I had slammed my right elbow into the corner where two walls meet, and a hot blooded pressure crossed my chest like a stinging needle, leaving me breathless for a few seconds. The result of this silly accident was a brace in my right hand and limited movement. Tears were falling out my soul as I soaked my arm in a warm salty bath, to relieve the excruciating pain. But thinking how was I to finish the piece. Imagine a right handed artist on a deadline with her tool damaged. But having two arms, why not use the other; And yes I used my left hand to paint.
A whole different point of view of my life and my skills; But I caught up quickly, training my left hand to do the work and just using my painful arm to touch up the small details.
Days were passing fast and the progress of my painting was really slow due to my untrained left hand. I just focused in the message, setting aside the physical pain and letting the feeling of healing in.
Alainas process was an experience of healing and hope that became a painting. Thanks for reading