The Things Closest to Us

"Forgiving I" Encaustic 18x18, "Forgiving II" Encaustic 18x18, "Forgiving III" Encaustic 18x18, "Forgiving IV" Encaustic 30x30

The thing about being human is that we make mistakes. People fail each other. But it is what we do with it that makes the difference. These paintings, titled, Forgiving, I, II, III, and IV are just about that. I have to point out the irony about my process of painting. It is a very internal, intuitive process. It isn't until I am finished with a piece or a series of pieces that I realize just what they are about. Such was the case with these. Immediately upon completion I understood that these paintings were about my processing an idea called forgiveness. Now, forgiveness doesn't happen all at once, I think it happens in stages, thus the reason for more that just one painting. Sometimes one goes through a stage of forgiving, and then takes some of it back. In my experience, it's tricky. And, the colors are no coincidence either. These colors of blue and orange, those opposite on the color wheel, signify hot rage and its opposite, cool absolution. I think I hold them together in my heart, and I wait patiently for the scales to tip into the blue, for I am human too.