10 Year Anniversary: The Painting Diary 10 of 30
Painting Diary 10 of 30: Phantom Limb, 2013
This painting, Phantom Limb, isn’t a statement about logging, although I have had people tell me thats what they make of it. I didn’t mean for it to be some kind of statement. The real story is this painting started with the title. Phantom Limb, as you probably know, is the term that amputees use to describe the sensation of having feeling in an arm or leg after it’s been removed. I wondered if a tree would have the same sensation, feeling their physical body long after they have fallen over or been cut down.
I love how these old stumps, ubiquitous around the Pacific Northwest are host to so much new life. Their rotting remains are a blessing for new life. Trees spring up from their center; huckleberry, salal, Oregon grape, ferns and mosses all thrive on them. The tree may be gone but it is not forgotten.
As I was finishing up this painting I was feeling really good about where I was with my creative development in the last couple years. I was on fire, compared to my old creative output. One afternoon, in a moment of inspiration I sent out a flurry of emails to coffee shops around Seattle asking for a show. Near the end of the year one of them got back to me and I was booked for a large show at a prominent shop on Capitol hill. It would be my first public showing in more than ten years and only my second ever! The only challenge was I had three weeks to get ready and nothing was framed, most of my paintings were not even signed.
To set the tone, things in Marysville were pretty dire. My Mom was going through some very serious health issues on multiple levels and although I was staying there in part to cook for her and be a positive support, at times it felt hopeless, and very taxing. When it got uncomfortable at times, I reminded myself that I was lucky to be able to spend that time with my mom at all. I had just had an epic year in Arkansas, getting to know my dad, and now I was connecting deeply with my mom in a way I hadn’t in my adult years. It was definitely a stroke of luck that I was there…
