On August 12, 1996, I picked up my brushes and began to paint again after 26 long years. I remember the day precisely. It was late afternoon in Seattle. A huge storm had blown in and it was pouring down rain. I put on loud music, old Bonnie Raitt, and started making soup. I used to be a singer and Bonnie was one of my inspirations so, there in my kitchen, I belted out Bonnie’s blues as though my soul depended on it.
I’d been doing The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron for about a month by then, I think, maybe longer. And I’d been buying art supplies on some of my “artist’s dates.” Singing there in my kitchen, the desire to paint overrode all my fears, and I went to gather the materials. I set up in the dining room, the only space there was, and began to paint.
Time stood still. I was in awe. I watched my hand dip and move, dance and swirl with the music, putting paint on canvas for the first time in 26 years. There was joy, certainly, a kind of fragile joy. I almost didn’t want to breathe because I didn’t want to break the spell.
I painted like I never remember painting before. It was freer, more painterly. It was almost as though I’d been painting in my mind all those years, perhaps in my heart, because I’d grown as a painter!
That day was the beginning. Those first strokes opened the doors, lit the pathway, that brought me here to live this artist’s life on the High Road to Taos. A destiny I’d never imagined, a life I’d not dared dream was possible. But I am here. And I am proof that it is, indeed, possible.
Whatever it is you’ve shunted aside, the thing that makes your soul swell, look at me now and know you can do it, too. You can live your truth, whatever it may be. And you do it by putting one foot in front of the other, by stepping into the unknown, sometimes into the darkness. It starts with some small stroke one day when you least expect it. Watch for it. Pay close attention or it can slip by unrecognized.
Whatever you dare to dream, begin it now.
Here are some photos of me as an art student at the University of Oregon.
And one of me painting after college.
This is one of those first paintings I did after 26 years. I think this was my third.
And this is me 3 years after starting to paint again working on my first one-woman show.
Love to you all,
Jeane
Marilyn Gibbons says
Thanks for sharing Jeane, it is always heart warming to go back with you in your journey to see how you got to the present. It is also encouraging to me to keep on discerning my own path to travel. love marilyn
Anonymous says
I’m so happy if my journey can help to encourage yours. We artists have to stick together. Thanks Marilyn!
Painting Herself Into Being says
So beautiful to experience the energy in this story. May we all follow that calling from our heart…
Anonymous says
Thank you, Sheri. And may we always continue once we begin.
Tslredd says
I loved Julia Cameron’s book. I must pull it off the shelf and start again. The photos of you as an art student caught me quite by surprise. I was an art student…then an ICU nurse for 20+ years.
Anonymous says
Yes, it’s a very good one. Do pull it off the shelf! You just never know. I don’t have many photos of that art student time… Few jobs are more important than an ICU nurse. Bless you.
Tslredd says
I have no photos of that time really. I lost all of my paintings, drawings, etc. in a flood.
Anonymous says
Perhaps that’s your invitation to create more?
Grace Kane says
Bravo….you are inspirational:) Again I love the new look of the blog:)
xoxox
Grace
Anonymous says
Thanks Grace. I think all of us have stories to tell that can inspire. I’m just lucky enough to get to tell mine this way. So glad you like the look of the blog! That’s very nice to hear.
Cindy Morris Saenz Baltazar says
Great going down memory lane. I love the pictures! I especially love the one of you painting for your show. The paintings in the background look really good. Very inspirational story for all of us.
Anonymous says
Thank you, Cindy. It was fun to share this particular anniversary with you all. Glad you liked it.
Laura says
Thanks for sharing your truth and providing inspiration. Your pictures tell the story as do your words. Jeane, may I ask what is marked as ‘Breakfast’ in the last picture? .
HighRoadArtist says
Wow! What a good eye you have Laura! I had to enlarge the image quite a bit to see it at all. That’s actually part of the background in one of my favorite paintings I’ve ever done. It was from a walk I took through a huge and wonderful Saturday Market in Portland, Oregon. There are two young people (the girl had on an amazing red skirt and that was the title of the painting, “The Red Skirt”) and they were standing in front of a booth that offered breakfast items. The painting sold to a collector in Seattle.
Laura says
Thank you for responding, Jeane, and thanks again for replying in detail. When I read the words ‘Breakfast’, it occurred to me that you especially enjoy your breakfasts. So I wondered whether those words attracted you to paint the scene. I love that last picture of yours – there is energy in your pose, and the painting in front is so expressive. Thanks for sharing, Jeane.
HighRoadArtist says
I looked for a digital photo of that painting (the one that says breakfast) but, sadly, there are none. I wish you could see that skirt. It was worth a whole big painting just to celebrate it. It was a rich red color and splashes of flowers decorated it from the thigh down. Simply gorgeous.
That painting in front of the easel is my friend, Jane, holding her great kitty. I forget his name! I can’t believe it. But it has been years and years since I was back in Seattle.
Laura says
It is so nice of you, Jeane, to look for a digital photo of the painting. I can imagine how gorgeous the skirt would have been. Your words make me imagine it – rich red color and flowers, worth celebrating. Thanks for your detailed reply. It is wonderful to know about these paintings.
HighRoadArtist says
I love that you noticed them and they made you curious. It’s everything an artist wants, I think, and you got it from an old photo.