If Fishes were WIshes

I have had a lot on my mind lately. More than usual. To the point where I have had trouble managing it all and I am not behaving properly in some instances. For instance, a couple weeks ago, some friends were helping me at Art Unraveled (you know who you are, Deb & Marilyn) and I yelled at them. Yes, I yelled at my friends. No excuse for this, I mean seriously....
Because I am strung out with a variety of business and personal things. My business is growing like crazy (ok, that's a good thing, not a problem) and my husband has cancer (yes, it was caught early and it's a curable kind, also a good thing).
And I don't get enough time to make art. There I said it. The truth is out. Managing a busy art career reduces that actual time you spend making art.
Go figure, huh?
Anyway, I was asked to participate in a show called Inspirations, sponsored by Chesterfield Arts. The gallery gathers amazing artworks created by kids in the special needs program, Kalaidescope. The professional artists (me & others) select a work and respond by making another piece of work. All the pieces are sold to raise monies for the program. The opening was this past Friday night.
Flash back a few weeks.

I got the painting, a lovely piece by a girl named Samantha.

I liked it a lot, it reminded me of a Georgia O'Keefe and I was attracted to the fluidity and movement in the piece. I later found out that Samantha had learned about O'Keefe and that the painting was about her!
So I started to paint.
Ugly stuff, it was like I had never held a brush before. Geez. The deadline was looming and I had not a thing to deliver. Called the gallery, begged for more time, yes I have apparently turned into "one of those' artists. Ahem. 

Finally, I started to play. Yes, just play, messing around with Scribbles and pretty origami papers. Cutting out pieces here and there, pulling random text I had collect. Somehow the text started to look like FISH to me.

close up of text

close up of texture

I kept working, I mean I like fish. Sure I had been going for flowers, but fish are good, right? I worked wet in wet, allowing the Scribbles to provide linear interest. The colors layered up in intriguing ways and I started to like the piece, it wasn't like anything I had ever done before, but I really liked it. Of course it was soooooo wet that it had to dry for about 12 hours before I could do more work on it. Ha!!
And finally it was done. I varnished it and celebrated that I had something I liked. I mentally thanked Samantha for her inspiration.
As I wrote up the statement for the piece, I realized that it had taken me on a journey. Truly, one of those things I never could have planned. I examined the piece one last time and that is when I saw the message, something evidently meant for my husband in light of his upcoming surgery. I didn't even realize it was there.
I think the painting wrote it really.

 

 "dear heart, grow well. expect hope. delight, soul spirit"