Serene Watercolor Escapes
Escape. What does it mean to escape somewhere? At a time when many of us are not able to travel to faraway places, this question comes to mind, and visits my studio.
Over the course of many years of travel, for which I am so grateful, I’ve come to realize that travel is not only about escaping to a place, but about a certain return to something within. For me, it feels like a turning towards that part of myself that responds with a certain visceral lens and an open heart to the world around me.
When we think of our dream destinations and escapes, and search in magazines or online for images of where we might like to go, it’s usually not guided by thoughts or logic, but by what we feel intuitively.....what stirs us the most, and feels most beautiful.
But what about now, when so many of us are not able to travel far away? Where do we go to escape? I think one place we can always escape to is our dreams and memories. Dreams and memories......these ‘places’ are ones I myself visit often, being an artist who works primarily with travel memories and inspiration. Yet despite this, it’s been strange because I don’t necessarily have a place that I’m looking forward to traveling to, at least not immediately. But I do have my memories and I have the joy and serenity that they bring.
Memories of places like Venice, Paris, Rome, Morocco, Spain, and Tuscany that re awaken me to the feelings of joy, enchantment, serenity, adventure, and a romance with history and the past, all of which I experienced while there.
Places don’t leave us. Even if we leave them.
What part of us is it then, that these places remain in? And how do we nurture and honor what remains?
This looks different for each of us. And I thinks it is why some of us paint, some of us write, and some of us share photographs and memories with loved ones, describing our travels with such joy, as if they were only yesterday. It’s also why the curiosity towards a certain place we’ve traveled to remains with us when we return home. We search in books and articles to put into words, and give meaning, history, and context to something we connect with in a way that needs no words or reason.
For me, I am grateful to have an art which explores this something that exists somewhere beyond words, and look forward to continuing to explore this in new ways, in new brushstrokes. It’s a never ending journey that life asked of me and I joyfully said yes to.
Some time ago, a thought came to my mind. Am I planting the seeds, or mourning the drought. I think of how I might apply this positive approach to life in regards to being an artist. Much of my watercolor painting started during a time when I was not actually traveling, but reminiscing past travels....It’s the nature of the ebb and flow of life for there to be periods of droughts, but.....planting the seeds. It all comes back to that for me these days. And gratitude for past abundance as well as all the places it can be cultivated in the now. And this what I bring to my ‘canvas.’ I do believe.....miracles pour in where gratitude expands to receive them. My studio is one place, for this place of gratitude. And small watercolor miracles, if I can call them that...yes, I think they are that, because they bring me such joy.
Gratitude itself is a blessing, I feel. And one thing I can always plant....is possibility.
I’ve gathering some of my favorite watercolor memories that celebrate the serenity and joy of these travels that continue to plant this seed in my life, both in my studio, and in my dreams and memories. These are small and medium sizes watercolors, with pricing beginning at $100. If you may want to peruse this gallery, I hope it brings back memories of your own favorite travels. And if there is one that especially delights you, I am so happy to lovingly send it to your doorstep, and hope it will bring a sprinkle of travel lust, possibility, serenity, and dreams to your home, or the home of a loved one.
