• Home
  • Simply Art
  • Too Much Fun!
  • Who Is Margaret L. Been?

The Messy Palette . . .

growing through art

Feeds:
Posts
Comments
« A Wonderful “First”
When all else fails . . . »

Energy!

May 3, 2012 by Margaret L. Been

I was delighted when someone commented that my art expresses “energy”—so delighted that I painted the above watercolor and titled it “Energy”.  But I was also mystified.  I really don’t think I have much energy!  (For more of my personal energy crisis and health related subjects see http://richesinglory.wordpress.com/ )

How wonderful to know that there is a soul and spirit energy which has nothing to do with whatever is going on in our bodies!  Soul and spirit are the grist of life, and the attributes thereof can carry us as long as we live—if we maintain our priorities and focus!

Within the confinements of age and incapacitating illness the great French painter, Matisse (1869-1954), continued expressing his soul energy in cut paper collages—right up until his death in 1954. 

Art history contains examples of artists who went on working, although at a less intense level, after they became partially blind.  Georgia O’Keeffe (1887-1986) is an inspiring example.  Per Wikipedia, “In 1972, O’Keeffe’s eyesight was compromised by macular degeneration, leading to the loss of central vision and leaving her with only periphial vision. She stopped oil painting without assistance in 1972, but continued working in pencil and charcoal until 1984.”

I believe that the older we get, the more we need an intense passion in life—and at least one creative activity that we can take with us wherever we go.  I spent about one-third of the days and nights from September, 2010 until June, 2011 at a nearby hospital.  Several of these occasions involved surgery and recovery for me.  But most of the days and nights were spent camping in my husband’s hospital room, where he underwent a number of serious leg surgeries and heart procedures. 

These times were productive for me.  My knitting and art supplies were ever at my side, along with a few books.  I slept on a futon in Joe’s hospital room, and kept my stuff on my own little corner table by the big windows.  In the daytime, I knitted and read—and many a night I sketched and painted at my little table before going to sleep to the sound of dripping IVs and clicking computer monitors hooked up to my man.  Joe and I were together, and God gave me peace in the midst of these storms.  My lack of physical energy was compensated, and my mind was challenged, by producing colorful art in yarn and on paper.

Energy!  The less we think we have, the more we may have welling up inside—just waiting for some creative venue of expression!  🙂

Margaret L. Been, ©2012

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook

Like this:

Like Loading...

Related

Posted in A Passion for Life, Art, Art in a crisis, Georgia O'Keefe, Matisse, Watercolor painting | Tagged Art, Art Therapy, Creative aging, Energy in art, Georgia O'Keeffe, Matisse, Watercolor painting | 5 Comments

5 Responses

  1. on May 3, 2012 at 4:59 pm incidentallearner

    I am energized!


  2. on May 4, 2012 at 3:35 am alicia stokes

    So inspiring! What an absolutely beautiful painting! Truly beautiful!


    • on May 4, 2012 at 4:02 am Margaret L. Been

      Thank you, Incidental Learner.

      And thank you, Alicia! I’m going to frame it in a (probably) deep blue frame and hang it over the piano—to add pizzaz to that wall!

      Love you!
      Grandma


  3. on May 13, 2012 at 5:33 pm Northern Narratives

    I love the colors.


    • on May 14, 2012 at 2:36 pm Margaret L. Been

      Thank you! I love your photos. And the word “Northern” is one of my most beloved words on earth!:)



Comments are closed.

  • Recent Comments

    Margaret L. Been on MORE LEAVES
    dianalrandolph on MORE LEAVES
    Margaret L. Been on A Foray into Acrylics
    dianalrandolph on A Foray into Acrylics
    Margaret L. Been on A Foray into Acrylics
  • Blog Stats

    • 40,738 hits
  • Recent Posts

    • MORE LEAVES
    • A Foray into Acrylics
    • Back Again, with Fractured Leaf Art
    • Ever Stretching!
    • Still Here!
  • Categories

    • "English Garden" (16)
    • A Passion for Life (73)
    • Abstract Expressionism (74)
    • Abstract realism in landscape painting (29)
    • Acrylics (11)
    • Affirming life through art (101)
    • Alcohol Ink Painting (1)
    • Apples (3)
    • Arches 140 lb. cold press paper (33)
    • Arches 140# rough texture paper (1)
    • Arches 300# paper (1)
    • Art (108)
    • Art and Poetry (3)
    • Art History (9)
    • Art in a crisis (5)
    • Art inspired by music (1)
    • Art Shows (7)
    • Art Teachers (17)
    • Art Therapy (41)
    • Battling Closed Minds and Limited Imaginations (19)
    • Beautiful Autumn! (6)
    • Blood Moon (1)
    • Books can be the greatest art teachers! (19)
    • Brian Jacques' REDWALL CHRONICLES (1)
    • Cashmere and Wool (4)
    • chiaroscuro (1)
    • Christian Art (1)
    • Cliff Dwelling of the Southwest USA (4)
    • Clock Collection (1)
    • Collage (3)
    • Collage art (14)
    • Collections (4)
    • Colorado Springs and Manitou Springs (2)
    • Condo Gardens (17)
    • Condo patio gardens (17)
    • Creation–the Third Day (1)
    • Creative Living in a Condo (121)
    • Cubism (1)
    • da Vinci (1)
    • Daylight is Increasing (11)
    • Decorating with Clocks (1)
    • Dog Hair (3)
    • Don't be conventional in decorating! (6)
    • Don't forget to play! (28)
    • Dreaming of Spring (10)
    • Easter (2)
    • En Plein Air (1)
    • End of the Day Glass (2)
    • Enough Winter! (6)
    • Exhibiting Art (2)
    • Farmer's Markets (1)
    • Fauvism (5)
    • Fenton Glass (1)
    • Fiber Arts (4)
    • For writers (2)
    • Freezing Time (1)
    • Friends! (5)
    • Funk and Funky (60)
    • Funky Patio (5)
    • gallery wrap canvas (1)
    • Garage Sale Treasure (7)
    • Garden Paintings (15)
    • Georgia O'Keefe (1)
    • Gesso (1)
    • Glass Bottle Collections (5)
    • Glen Eyrie Colorado (1)
    • God's Power Revealed in Weather (3)
    • Good times with grandchildren (4)
    • Gouache (45)
    • Great Reading (3)
    • Greeting Card Art (2)
    • Hand Spinning (2)
    • Happily damaged frontal lobes (1)
    • Heat! (2)
    • Impressionism (12)
    • Inktense water soluble ink pencils (2)
    • Inspiration from books (5)
    • Inspiration from reading (4)
    • Jesus is Lord! (2)
    • JUNK GARDENS (2)
    • JUNK! (1)
    • Junking and antiquing are wonderful therapy (6)
    • Knitting (4)
    • Lake Superior (4)
    • Les Fauves (3)
    • Life in the 1930s and 40s (2)
    • Light! (9)
    • Lilacs (5)
    • Making Note Cards (1)
    • Matisse (3)
    • Memories (14)
    • Mixed-Media Art (7)
    • Mixwed Media Painting (6)
    • Monet (6)
    • Movements in Art (13)
    • Music Therapy (5)
    • My piano (6)
    • Negative Painting (2)
    • New Mexico (6)
    • New Year! (4)
    • Nostalgic Reflections (20)
    • Oil Painting (6)
    • oil pastels (2)
    • Old treasures (3)
    • Overcoming artists' block (3)
    • Paddington Bear (1)
    • Paint what you love! (72)
    • Painting Color and Light (50)
    • Painting inspiration from reading (2)
    • Painting Sailboats (4)
    • Painting Trees (1)
    • Painting Tricks (4)
    • Painting with Markers (1)
    • Pastels, Hard/Soft/ and Oil (1)
    • Pen and Ink (2)
    • Pioneers (1)
    • Poetry by Margaret Longenecker Been (6)
    • Pontillism (1)
    • Post Impressionists (4)
    • Power Surge in Late Winter (5)
    • Reading (4)
    • Recycling Failed Art (5)
    • Redeeming failed watercolor paintings (12)
    • Redwing Blackbirds (4)
    • Rembrandt (2)
    • Repeating a theme in art (6)
    • Rummage Sales! (3)
    • Sailboat paintings (3)
    • Savoring Summer (5)
    • Second Day of Creation (1)
    • Shirley Trevena, artist (1)
    • Soap Making (2)
    • Southwestern Art (13)
    • Speeding up the Spring! (6)
    • Spinning (5)
    • Spring (3)
    • Spring Painting (5)
    • Spring Paintings (13)
    • Spring Poetry (1)
    • Still Life Paintings (14)
    • Summer in Wisconsin (12)
    • Summer paintings (8)
    • Sunrise sunset (4)
    • Taylor Ikin Fine Artist (1)
    • The American West (12)
    • The artist's personal "voice" (45)
    • The Beauty of "Hand Made" (27)
    • The deep cold days (9)
    • The Fun of Being Unconventional! (52)
    • The Great American Glass Industries (2)
    • The joy of experimenting with art (116)
    • The joy of making a mess! (116)
    • The joy of making art (133)
    • The joy of music (9)
    • The joy of sharing our art (90)
    • The joy of the sketchbook (4)
    • The joys of antiquing (7)
    • The Last Supper (1)
    • The Old Masters (4)
    • The Wild Things (7)
    • Therapy Outings (1)
    • Thomas Kinkade (2)
    • Tracks in the Snow (1)
    • Transparent Watercolors (47)
    • Trees (1)
    • Uncategorized (12)
    • Vintage Treasures (7)
    • Waiting for Spring (17)
    • Watercolor and Gouachw (2)
    • watercolor art (40)
    • watercolor crayons (8)
    • Watercolor painting (114)
    • Watercolor Paintings (20)
    • Watercolor tricks such as salt and cling film (12)
    • Watercolors (101)
    • Watercolors and Gouache (34)
    • Way out Creativity (58)
    • Weaving (2)
    • Winter in Wisconsin (13)
    • Winter Paintings (8)
    • Winter Survival (11)
    • Wisconsin summer (3)
    • Wisconsin waters (5)
    • Wonderful Hoarding (4)
    • Wonderful places to shop! (3)
    • Yarn (4)
    • YUPO paper (64)
  • Blogroll

    • A Girl and Her Brush
    • Alicia's Roses
    • Art Blogs 4 U
    • Colleen's Photography
    • Darlene's Poetical Pursuits
    • Devotional Insights from Scriptures
    • In Other Words and Pictures
    • Ingrid's Hope Blog
    • Living Abundantly with Illness and Chronic Pain—Margaret Been's Blog
    • Making a House a Home
    • Margaret L. Been's Grace with Salt
    • Margaret L. Been's Northern Reflections
    • Margaret L. Been's Upholding Biblical Truth in an Age of Apostasy
    • Mary's Nest
    • Panache on a Pittance—maximum style on a minimum budget
    • Patti's amazing photography and essays on life
    • Poems from Oostburg, WI, USA
  • Top Posts & Pages

    • MORE LEAVES
      MORE LEAVES
    • A Foray into Acrylics
      A Foray into Acrylics
    • Back Again, with Fractured Leaf Art
      Back Again, with Fractured Leaf Art
    • Ever Stretching!
      Ever Stretching!
    • Still Here!
      Still Here!
    • Wondering What to Paint?
      Wondering What to Paint?
    • Summer's Demise
      Summer's Demise
    • Rather Funky!
      Rather Funky!
    • Still Here
      Still Here
    • Some of us still write letters!
      Some of us still write letters!

Blog at WordPress.com.

WPThemes.


Cancel
%d bloggers like this: