The Messy Middle
Do you ever feel like life is happening so quickly there’s no time to stop and catch your breath? I believe we all do at one time or another. And what is unfortunate about all of our busyness is that we often miss the messy middle. Say what????
Let me explain what I mean in art talk. A painting can be going along amazingly well, everything falling into place just how I had hoped. Colors, edges, values all working together. And then I get a bit sidetracked or distracted and when I look again the painting has become a disaster. I’m deep in the “messy middle”. There have been times I wandered there for months and other times I can paint my way out quickly. But I always learn something there.
Just like my paintings, life can be bouncing from one event to the next smoothly when, all of a sudden, something throws if off and makes it messy. My messy middle last week was dealing with vertigo. It almost threw me on the ground while having lunch with a friend and it took a week to shake the dizziness and “off” feelings it caused. I know you have had your own surprise “vertigo” in some form or another. These times slow us down, maybe nudge us to reach out for help, and often pay more attention to the people and the things that are really important to us.
Protect The Family
This painting embodies the chaotic middles of my artistic process. Started last summer, it witnessed countless revisions and moments of self-doubt before its completion a year later. The journey taught me resilience - to not abandon myself or my work. I feel like the “mess” in this painting is what makes it so special, just like the “messes” in each of our lives makes each of us special. And approachable!
My next email will be coming to you from Santa Fe! It’s that time of the year when we leave the heat in Texas and head to the beauty of Santa Fe. I can’t wait! I’ll show you a little bit of my life out there over the next four months and hopefully have new creations to present to you. Until then, have a great week and keep yourself moving forward in the midst of the messes!
Bye for now!
Lynn