I finished this piece last week the day before I got my second Moderna vaccination shot. I was anxious, of course, but also excited because the 2nd dose gives me an extra layer of protection so that I can feel better about being out and about. I am immune compromised and I also have a clotting disorder, so this past year has been pretty anxiety producing. We haven’t traveled as a family in over a year. A year!!! I’m so ready to see new horizons and also why I think I have been itching to be painting my oil landscapes of horizons, of where earth meets sky and clouds. Horizons always seem hopeful and convey possibilities.
This painting was inspired by a photo I took on a hike in the mountains in Utah several years ago. We had started our hike in the early moments of dawn when it’s still dark and walked up the mountain as the sun rose.
I started this painting probably 2 years ago? I can’t remember now. I had gotten stuck on the bottom part. So it sat unfinished in my studio. I’m so glad I returned to it and finally finished it. It’s interesting to return to a piece started a few years ago- I can’t help but think how I am a different person than the one that stood in front of this canvas back then. And I think it shows. At least to me.
As I work at my drawings, day after day, what seemed unattainable before is now gradually becoming possible. Slowly, I’m learning to observe and measure. I don’t stand quite so helpless before nature any longer.
― Vincent van Gogh in ’Lust for Life’