Being Present in the “In-Between”

I watch pigments drip, float and slide across my canvas. I see the many shades of color. I see blues and purples mixing and sloshing. I see white bursting. There are so many possibilities. I know that in the space outside this space there is another reality. There, time moves, people are doing, and things are happening. I hover here instead. Nothing of import is really happening here at all. Sand is being poured into paint and then scraped onto white linen. Fabric is cut, arranged, and adhered to a 2-D plane. Found objects are thumbed, stroked, and then carefully considered as the next choice. In all of this, I sometimes have the sudden urge to stop and re-enter “reality.” I suddenly feel strange and uncomfortable: as though I have lost touch with real life. I battle the urge to leave and I win. Eventually, I find closure and I am done creating for the day. I give myself time to leave the world I’ve been floating in, above, and through. Slowly, I cap my paints, wash my brushes, and cross the threshold back to now. Upon re-entry, I look at what I’ve made, and I’m pleased that I lingered for so long in the “In-Between.” Fleetingly, I have captured something I can’t even articulate. In a liminal space, I created on a flat plane, grabbed a piece of a moment in time, and got it to stay.

The artist in me finds refuge in the echo of an empty space or in the strange and disquieting cessation of time. Painting serves as my portal into these spaces. I am suddenly not where I was five minutes ago, and I am not where I’ll be when I put my paintbrushes down. I am lost somewhere, and I do my best to seize and describe this “Somewhere” in my paintings. Even if you believe you lack all talent and skill, it does not matter. You can still seize these moments as I seize them. Find a creative channel that can quiet the disquieting “In-Betweens”: a channel that will offer you clarity in both the fleeting and unyielding moments anchored in time. Creative expression offers you calming, quieting, and soothing in the otherwise unsettling liminal spaces where we all find ourselves in waiting. Take a place that would be otherwise destabilized, rattled, and agitated, and create a place where you can be present and mindful. You can do it all with a paintbrush and a canvas.

This blog entry has been about painting and its power to help us embrace the present moment. You can be present in life’s “In-Betweens” and find peace, encouragement, and understanding through creative process. I hope you won’t let fear of failure stop you from enjoying the opportunity to learn from your past, present and future. This isn’t about talent or skill. It’s all about the art making process. As you embrace that process, even the most challenging places you wait in can offer you hope and understanding. You don’t have to be alone in the “In-Between.” A paintbrush can be your companion, and this blog can be a place where you can share your discoveries. People are listening, and they thank you for the chance to hear what you have to say. Let us learn from you and walk alongside you as you paint your way to understanding tomorrow through your creative process today. Paint your way to greater mindfulness, and then share with us here at Mindfulness Paintings Blog.

 

This is a acrylic and collage painting about time and space. The artist tried to stay in the present moment and be mindful of the "Right Now" as she created this work of art.