A New Sneak Peek at new Painting

“You are invited to live more consciously, to get off auto pilot and cruise control. To try new things to find out who you really are in this moment and time.”
– James Hollis, Ph.D.

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

Another Sneak Peek at new Painting

I have been working on this every morning and more on the weekends.  It is such a slow process, as I tweak this and fine tune that.  I am so very pleased with this painting.  I have a growing affection for the whole process.  It’s a shame I have to keep going to my day job.  I could happily create in my studio all day.

This is the same little peek I showed you here.  It’s a wee little part of what I showed you here.   It’s on the far left panel, in the top third.  Many layers of color and glaze have been added since then.  I am almost finished.  A little more tweaking and fine tuning to go.  I think I even have the title… Fields of Memories, or something along that line.   Are two plurals in a title improper?  Like I said… or something like that. 

James Hollis, Ph.D., was born in Springfield, Illinois. He graduated with an A.B. from Manchester College in 1962 and with a Ph.D. from Drew University in 1967. He taught the Humanities 26 years in various colleges and universities before retraining as a Jungian analyst at the Jung Institute of Zurich, Switzerland (1977-82). He is a licensed Jungian analyst in private practice in Houston, Texas, where he served as Executive Director of the Jung Educational Center of Houston from 1997-2008. He lives with his wife Jill, an artist and therapist, and together they have three living children, and six grand-children. He is a retired Senior Training Analyst for the Inter-Regional Society of Jungian Analysts, was the first Director of Training of the Philadelphia Jung Institute, and is vice president emeritus of the Philemon Foundation, which is dedicated to the publication of the complete works of Jung. Additionally, he is Director of the Jungian Studies program of Saybrook Graduate School of San Francisco.  (See www.saybrook.edu, and then Jungian Studies).

He has written eight books published by Inner City Books, a Jungian-oriented press located in Toronto, Canada; he has also written three books published by Gotham Press, a division of Penguin, and two books published by academic presses. His books have already been translated into Russian, German, Swedish, Spanish, Portuguese, Turkish, Italian, Korean, Finnish, Hungarian, French, Czech, and Japanese.

3″ Crop from Panel 3 – Still adding color

“We may spend our lives seeking something that is right inside us, and could be found if we only stop and deepen our attention.”
–Tara Brach

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

Itty Bitty 3″ Crop from Panel 3 – Still adding color

The color is starting to be defined and the fun is really beginning.  This part is so addictive!  I just keep adding more layers and more light and shadow.  It’s so hard to walk away at this point.  I got to paint most of the day, yesterday.  I still have so much to do.

My non artist hubby is having a hard time reconciling all the time it takes to do these.  He sees all the hours as less and less profit when it sells.  I tried to explain to him that it’s not really about the money, but as his eyes glazed over, I explained that I will always own the image itself and I can reproduce it in other ways to make more money.  That seemed to satisfy him, sorta.   It makes little sense to the non artist that we fall a little in love with the “whole” of the painting as we tenderly dab on each little bit of color, delighting in each new shadow or area of light that dances off the canvas.  I can’t wait to see it hanging on the gallery wall and I hope that someday, someone will love it as much as I do.

Tara Brach is a leading western teacher of Buddhist meditation, emotional healing and spiritual awakening. She has practiced and taught meditation for over 35 years, with an emphasis on vipassana (mindfulness or insight) meditation. Tara is the senior teacher and founder of the Insight Meditation Community of Washington. A clinical psychologist, Tara is the author of
Radical Acceptance: Embracing Your Life With the Heart of a Buddha and the upcoming book, True Refuge-Three Gateways to a Fearless Heart (Bantam, February 2013).
Tara is nationally known for her skill in weaving western psychological wisdom with a range of meditative practices. Her approach emphasizes compassion for oneself and others, mindful presence and the direct realization and embodiment of natural awareness.