The first painting I paired with writing was called Raven’s Wings. I sat down to explain why I had made it and an explanation kept falling short. So I wrote from my heart in it instead and how the raven’s wings set off deep thought and curiosity in my own reflection. It felt like the missing piece I hadn’t known the painting needed.
I never planned to write poetry. At first I called these pieces narratives and eventually I accepted them as poems that don’t have to follow any rules. Some rhyme and some don’t… I find freedom in letting whatever wants to come, come.
For Example
The Shadow came from my own acceptance of what we usually call the shadow self and the good that can come from treating it as a place to learn and love rather than something to shut out and turn away from. The painting holds the feeling, the poem lets me say it in words:
The Shadow
Hello darkness, we meet again
The burden I once felt when you arrived has now become my biggest trophy.
By knowing you and experiencing you
I can feel all aspects of my heart.
I can feel the deepest hurt and because of that, the greatest happiness.
You never go easy and that’s okay
For I know life exists within my next breath.
You’ve taught me how to heal through the dark cloud
To know the rain brings with it the vibrance of true beauty.
Thank you, I can feel.
What I didn’t expect
I had a booth at an art market in Park City, Utah where a woman stopped in front of one of my paintings. She told me it had pulled her in right away. Then she read the poem, stepped back, put her hand over her heart and said, “Wow, that’s me. That’s my body speaking to me.”
The poem never mentioned the body, she saw herself in the words and I believe that’s exactly why it reached her. My poems stay ambiguous enough for you to step into them and take what you need. I’m not telling you what to see or feel. You are, it’s why I say that what comes up is never just mine.
Creative expression
The poem is a deeper layer that you can choose to read or not. It’s not meant to tell you what to see or feel, just opens the door a little more. Some poems confront, some comfort and some simply make you think.
To me, the poem is part of the experience and it’s how I as an artist express myself.
Each large piece includes a printed 5x7 card with the poem, signed by hand. You can either frame it next to the painting, keep it just for yourself or simply not keep it. It’s entirely up to you.
If you’d like to see the paintings and read the poems that go with them, my available originals are here: Signature Artwork.