Art

Thank you again for your questions and comments. Let’s keep them going. Please CLICK HERE to ask your question or comment on anything you’d care to mention.

This Week’s Question:
I really enjoyed watching your creative process unfold. Are you still painting and where does that fit in with what you are doing now?

Answer:
Thanks so much for asking. The creative process is an integral part of my life and rather than just applying it through paint, I’m exploring my desire to experience my life as one continuously creative act. We are always creating our lives through action and reaction. My purpose is to become more conscious of what it is I’m creating in my life and to help others do the same.

Switched On ~ 8” x 8” Oil on Panel ~ ©Linda Hough
[$200]

What I recently realized was that I was using the process of painting as a path to healing some very deep wounds. My long journey was a step-by-step process that I was unconsciously following to regain confidence in my creative expression. And through that, acceptance of who I really am.

Through painting, I developed the ability to lose myself in the creative flow that happens when you are present only to what you are doing, dance with the divine creative energies and represent my ideas on canvas.

Now, I am doing the same with words. I am deeply interested in all the ways we hold ourselves back from attaining our desires and goals, our intentions and dreams. I am interested in the constant battle between what we really want and what we actually do.

Eternal Mother ~ 8” x 8” Collage on Board ~ ©Linda Hough

Exploring this inner terrain has fascinated me since I was in high school. We are seeing so many breakthroughs with regards to how our minds work, the energies of universal laws and stepping up to new levels of awareness that I can’t help but be excited about the possibilities.

However, at the same time, so much is breaking down. Often, it is difficult to determine what exactly IS going on and how to find our true home in this crazy world. My intention with this new work is to provide some information that helps make sense of not only our lives today but also the big picture as a whole.

Within us, there are many energetic patterns that determine how we experience our lives. Some of these patterns are old habits we are holding on to. The experience of pain or suffering is a good indication that you have energetic patterns that need to be released. When you are able to do so, your life will take on an entirely different quality. Of this, you can be sure.

Passion Alive ~ 8” x 10” Collage on Panel ~ ©Linda Hough

Ultimately, my intention is to combine my all loves into one big, beautiful extravaganza of love and color and vibrant expression that is my life. In the weeks to come, you’ll see these changes reflected visually in this newsletter and maybe even a new website.

I hope that you continue to join me on this journey and perhaps even begin yourself to more consciously experience your very own creative project called life.

One Night ~ 18″ x 24″ ~ Mixed Media on Paper

When you last heard from me, I was in the process of revitalizing my artistic career. Although my mind was very intent on getting my work out into the world, I was beginning to suspect that my heart had other ideas. And then my friend died.

If you’ve ever had anyone close to you pass away, after the shock wears off and the grief subsides, you may have found yourself doing an involuntary reassessment of your own life. Especially if the person was taken quickly. As I wrote at the time, I imagined she woke up just like every other morning and did what she always did. Then suddenly she was gone.

That sort of suddenness really hit me hard. I began letting the thoughts that were just below the surface rise to the top. I had been struggling way too much in my painting. I was not happy. You may have been able to tell in my writing. Maybe you could feel some of the pain lying underneath it all.

So I stopped painting for a while. I stopped trying to force something that didn’t want to happen.

But what I didn’t stop doing was immersing myself in personal growth reading and spiritual teachings. Nothing makes my heart soar faster than turning the pages of a really wise book and savoring the ideas as they transform, or not, my current thinking. This was a clue.

Most of you are reading this newsletter as a result of my Shine Your Light Tele-Summit. I thought back to that time and what I wanted to accomplish. So many of us carry this deep, inner pain lying just under the surface of our lives. We ask ourselves questions that we cannot answer. And we KNOW there has to be more than what we are experiencing.

What do you do when your light is all stuck inside with no obvious way out? What if it isn’t quite willing to be expressed? Too fearful or shy?

Eventually you begin to hurt. The pain begins to take its toll. First in little ways, a lack of confidence, a slip of self-esteem. You may not even notice it at first but with time, the pain grows and makes itself known in continually larger ways. I know because that was my life.

Passion Flow ~ 18” x 24” ~ Acrylic on Paper

In search of relief, I took a leap of faith and traveled to Boston to a workshop called Authentic Voice. There, among other things, I learned about intuitive writing and intuitive painting. I got in touch with what authentic voice means and my own latent potential. Most of all, I got in touch with the deepest part of myself, the part who wants to express, who wants to paint and dance with joy.

When I got home, out came the paintbrushes. One Night (top) and Passion Flow (above) are two in a series of intuitive paintings where I finally cut loose and let myself just express. The self-critic was gone and in its place were trust, allowing and joy.

Was I happy or what? I knew that I had been missing something. The passion had not been there. The desire all locked away. But now, the pain that I had been feeling receded. This is what I had wanted to do all along, to just let go and connect with the part of myself that knows what to do.

Totem 63” x 72” Oil on Canvas

I even got to that big, giant canvas I had stapled to the wall. (above) But most of all, I understood that my passion lies somewhere between painting and helping others experience their authentic voices so that they too can express their true selves, shine their light and dance with joy.

Lights On ~ 8” x 8” Painting in Progress ©Linda Hough 2012

When was the last time something went as you expected? This seems to be the theme in my life right now. Not only in the 10 in 10 Painting Challenge I set for myself last week but in general.

Long ago, I got the idea that expectations were a set-up for disappointment. That not letting go of expectations when faced with a different reality was surely a recipe for unhappiness. My question though has always been this: when expectations are not met, do you change reality to meet the expectations or do you accept what is? It’s situational, I’m sure.

This week, I gave myself a framework in which to complete ten paintings but I also attempted to let go of all expectations. My focus was on experimentation while being mindful of paint application, watching my thoughts and generally being present to the process.

The painting above was the first image that showed up. It is based on an audio series I’d been listening to about being in the light. Much like when I was a child, this image just popped into my mind. I had all sorts of other ideas about my ten panels but this is what showed up. So I painted it.

It’s not finished. There are layers of glazing to apply. So the first expectation I had to throw out was the one about doing a painting a day. I’ve never painted that way but thought I’d give it a go. Nope. Glazing can’t be done in a day.

The next expectation was that I’d paint all ten panels as a series. But after a lovely sunset, I was inspired to do four panels based on the colors and forms I saw in the sky. More abstract, not necessarily sunsets. Not at all like the above painting in style, color or feeling. Another expectation out the door.

These four panels are looser, freer and I noticed a LOT of opinions and judgments bantering about in my mind while working on them. None of them positive. I couldn’t even get myself to show them here as one of the colors currently looks like Pepto Bismol.

However, I reminded myself to just let go and see what happens. When glazing, you want the first layers to be lighter and brighter so you can go darker with each successive layer. This part is the experimentation bit…no expectations.

I did two panels with trees. And three more sit empty, waiting for inspiration.

On the tenth day of the challenge, I will have worked on ten paintings. Because of the glazing, I already know they won’t be finished. But I will have gotten that much farther down the road to finding my theme and my direction. And learned a whole lot more about being present to what is to boot.