Peace on the River
24”x 36” Acrylic on Canvas
Donated to Ferndale Chamber of Commerce for their 2018 Annual Awards Dinner and Auction
So here I am kicking off the new year with this new mission of using my art for the greater good. That entire, Oprah AHA feeling you have, when you feel like everyone should get a new car, is all there. There were cool connections happening and finding a cool synergy to work and paint. I have found that my job with WhatcomTalk has allowed me to be involved and learn in my community. I find that real connection and real relationships really matter and are essential in a community like ours. I feel business should be organic and never forced. You cannot force a puzzle piece. You have to see the bigger picture at all times. This brings me to an email from Audrey at the Ferndale Chamber of Commerce. She had heard that I did some art and wondered if I wanted to donate something. Old tapes came up and immediately started to put mental boundaries on why I couldn’t. Then the power of purpose came into focus. My thought was sure. “I can create something for you.” Audrey and I discussed a few things on what this could be and look like and she left it up to me.
Realization
I had to think about Ferndale and its entire feel. The Nooksack River in Ferndale has always been a river of wonder to me. It has such a current and when the waters crest, there can be such a calm and destructive beauty about it all. This is what I was feeling and painted. The dusk lighting of the sunrise on the water gives life to a new day. Also, coming from Florida and understanding the lakes and marshlands, it gave me a sense of home when I was a kid. I was tapping into myself and drawing inspiration from the past and merging it with my now. A week later they had the painting and helped me move past my own tapes! This process makes me feel more complete.
#yearofpurpose #rippleofpositivity #givebackprogram