Patience

The weather where I live is always surprising. Last week it was very very hot and today it is freezing cold. All of the leaves have unfolded and the flowers are blooming, but now we might have a hard frost tonight and that would damage the tender floral stuff. I love this unpredictability. It is an exciting time of year. I thrive on the constant changes. But other folks are upset. They have had enough of the cold winter months. They want warmth and sunshine all the time now. Folks get crabby this time of year. They get impatient.

This bright Spring colored painting contains the image of a young fragile tree that just put her new leaves on before the sky opened up with an unexpected snowfall. A reminder that Nature does as she pleases. And a reminder to be patient. Life cannot be rushed.

How Patience was created..... After the black gesso primer dried, I used my fingers and crumpled paper to apply all sorts of mottled Spring hues. Layers and layers of fun party colors. Then I used a wide soft brush to paint two black rectangles. Once the underpainting dried, I used a variety of brushes to paint the scene. And I used dental tools to scratch in some accent lines. The words were first "engraved" with a dental pick and then painted black and then most of the black lines were painted over to leave the beautifully irregular, almost fragile letters that remain in the finished piece.

Patience was painted on a rigid canvas panel. The edges of the panel have been painted, so this piece looks lovely displayed just as it is on a small stand or decorative easel. Or it can be easily and affordably framed as it requires no glass or matting.