Landscape-ish abstracts

This year I’ve been holding the creative tension of, on the one hand really enjoying doing a lot of experimenting and learning and trying new things, and on the other hand, longing to land on a creative approach or process or focus that feels like “home”. Like it fits the shape of my soul and I can fully rest there and go deep for a long while.

(It’s not lost on me that this is in so many ways how I’m feeling as we work at settling in more fully in the Netherlands since our immigration in 2022.)

Over the past few months I’ve been making lots of art I don’t like, some art I do like but I don’t feel an excitement to pursue more in depth, and just a few pieces of art that I’m really excited about.

These are just sketches/ explorations, but there’s something in these that really excites me. I had such fun creating them, once I switched off that part of my brain that wants to understand and be understood. (Which is difficult to do, and feels a little scary and also so so good!)

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I’m not sure yet how I’ll translate these landscape-ish abstracts into “finished” paintings I can sell. I have more questions than answers for now, but the fact that I enjoyed making them so much is an important clue that I’m on the right track.

And looking at them makes me so happy. They feel like I feel when I’m out in nature.