We have had absolutely stunning weather this fall. We have had a whole week with day time temps in high 60’s with a clear blue skies. I have been enjoying the perfect riding weather and beautiful scenery in my rural hometown. With days like this each moment produces another display of light and color that I am having a hard time concentrating on the more mundane things in life! Usually Ohio weather throws out color and light in measured doses in between grey and dreary as if to imply too much of a good thing would not be appreciated. I am living in a predominantly Mennonite and Amish community so of course this belief would permeate into my subconscious somehow.
As an artist I am used to producing my own displays of color to compensate for what becomes color deprivation during the winter months. Come about Feb. you have seen about as much grey as you can stand and you end up pleading for sunlight!
I have worried about my lack of concentration and have come up with my own myriad of diagnosis – Highly Sensitive Person, ADD, early on-set Alzheimer’s but now I know it is inspiration overload. I was trying to pinpoint my memory problem and learned it is called my ‘working memory’. You have too many tasks at hand so the fix is to not mutli-task. I realize I multi-task in my head — this idea, that painting, this color combination – it really isn’t processed in words but on another level because it is the underbelly of the creative cycle. You have soaked in this information and your mind and muse is wanting to erupt with your own outlet or expression of it. You get all this visual inspiration and the ideas begin to flow.
In times past a grey day popped up and you could process your ideas and work them out in the grey fogginess that stretches out in between the light and color but now another full day of beauty is in front of you and more inspiration flows! On the grey dreary days I can squirrel away in my studio and create the kind of world I am lacking but when the beauty comes from outside rather than within I am torn. My horses call to me, the farm fields beckon, the skies entice, the sun captivates. Even the blades of grass and leaves on the ground are outlined with frost and light and are a thing of beauty to be marveled all by itself. I am now adding to my long list of artistic goals Plein Air painting.
Surely this is an artist thing…. I am learning to appreciate what it means to be an artist. These days have been a real gift in which I can fill my inspiration tank to over flowing!
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