Through The Years

Everywhere I look I see red! No I'm not angry. I like red, deep, old fashioned, sort of Ukrainian red. Here it is balanced out by black and whites and accented with touches of old world gold. For some reason it brings me comfort, a deep sense of belonging here.

As a very young child I loved pink, then I loved red because my Grandma loved red. To me red meant Grandma and anything she loved, I loved. That lasted until my teens when I had a few years of rebellion. For that little bit of time I didn't want to be like Grandma, or any other adult I knew. I really was a bit angry then. My family had moved so many times I felt dislocated, like I didn't belong anywhere.

The good part of that was that I discovered I loved deep forest greens and so many shades of blue. It was like the world opened its arms to me and said, "Come, be angry with man if you must, but look at me!"

Later on I had my purple period, once more deep, dark velvety purple, no half way colors for me. I love the jewel tones, the regal colors the ones that take my breath away.

I never could paint with water colors, they were not brilliant enough to suit me. I like the old oil paints and now simply the acrylics. I have left so much behind me that sometimes I feel like a new person here, but I'm not new.

I have thoughts that wind in and out of the maze of my life, thoughts that remind me of how much I have seen and done and heard and... thought. I am like a well. Reflecting the sky and the trees, the purple mountains majesty and all those thing that were once just words. Now everything has meaning and feeling.

I am filled up and brimming with colors.