mini blogs about places I have had my art outside my atelier …

When Friends Meet Up heartspeak happens. No special words are required, not when there is kinship.

This painting, Garden Center Heart to Heart, started brewing just about a year ago when I snapped a photo at the 2023 Art in the Garden event.
… The story I formed from this scene, while also making plans to paint it out, was about two friends with a passion for gardening having a spontaneous chinwag, exchanging heart messages … about anything and everything. I imagined they each found themselves reminiscing later that day, while playing in dirt, over their happy meetup and conversation. Perhaps every time they saw a particular plant purchased that day, they were reminded of that impromptu chitchat, and their hearts swell all over again. … maybe.

At the 2024 Spring Art in the Garden event, the same thing happened: friends met up, enjoyed spontaneous conversation … and, an opportunity to splash a little watercolor paint!

In my list of reasons I do these ‘art pop-ups’ is that “I want to create a space to paint! and discover that gift of creativity within.”

These small encounters folks have with the need to dig into their inner self and create, even if it is just a few brush strokes making a splash of color, is a process that brings forth smiles and delight!

This particular dig in and get your brush wet opportunity was to paint a portion of a community painting. I doodled and invited others to add their color! As the sign said: “We were created for relationship. Add your touch to this community painting!”

It was heartwarming to watch people, either individually or together, paint; hearts full of delight with a sense of creativity filling the air!

Not noticing until reviewing snapshots later, I see I sported the Minnie Pearl look for quite a bit of the day! I am reminded of a quote I heard earlier this spring:

“Do you know the most important color in the color palette? It is black; because when you mix black with any other color you can create shadow. That’s. what creates depth in a painting. Life is the same way. That is, it is all the darkness that creates the depth.”

– Sarah Cannon, aka Minnie Pearl