PAINTING IN PLACE Art as meditation

Before becoming a professional artist, I spent years as an ordained Unity minister learning how to "be here now." My art is the visual practice of that spiritual imperative. If painting is a meditation, artwork is this inner work made visible.

Grounding myself in a particular place is essential to my painting process. Before I begin an outdoor painting, I explore possible sites, taking as much time as necessary to feel into the place. Once found, I may paint there once, energetically putting down layers of paint in a short time, or, like Monet or Cezanne, return again and again to make fresh studies. I may also transport the place into the studio where imagination and abstraction may bring me even closer to knowing it.

Students frequently inquire about the "how-to" of my loose style. I assure them this not simply painting technique. It's the result of long years of training in the art being present without fear. So many of us get mired in the muck of self-doubt and it's prideful compensations. Trying too hard, we lose touch with inspiration; indeed, we literally forget to breathe and life flees the canvas. I've learned not to terrorize myself excessively with irrelevant concerns. My motto: "Keep your eye on the ball." When I'm simply watching the ball and not trying to manage it, courage comes easily.