Amor Fati

I think the flying dreams of last week were a reminder of the courage needed to go the distance.

Vacation mode is behind me and I now have momentum in the studio which means painting 4-5 days a week. “Do you check in like a job?” I was asked recently. “Yes. By 9am I’m in the studio. Sometimes earlier.” She nodded. I like routine, especially when I’m working on a series. Like Pillowtalk.

Because I’m showing up everyday I can enter the testing phase without panic.

Painting is all about testing. Each layer is a test of responding to what is in front of me. The hard part is to stay calm when you’re 8 layers into it and have yet found the end. The period. The closure. I’m learning that to push to the edge of the work I have to get comfortable with the “not working yet” phase. Discomfort. Am I willing to go the distance? Can I control my reactions in order to keep flying? Another life lesson.

Amor fati. ( a love of fate) – Nietzsche

The paintings in this post are the result of testing day after day. Some of the pieces have been layered and scraped back multiple times. If you look closely, you can see the history of the flight. Little scars, bumps and U-turns that hint at the journey and lead to gratitude for what happened.