Rocks and Water as Self Portrait 2017), 40 x 40 x 3 inches, pulp painting.
Start of day nine. I begin today’s studio session with the goal of painting the waves so they appear to be crashing up against the rocks and in contrast to the calm waters of the tide pool in the foreground. For me, this is where the metaphor of rocks and water as life’s journey comes together.
The ocean water is soft and cool at the shoreline, but, when the weather conditions are right, the ocean tide relentlessly crashes against the hard rocks. The rocks weigh much more than the water, but the strength of the crashing waves can literally move the rocks into new formations. Ultimately, the rocks are smoothed by the water, and over time, they will disintegrate.
The crashing waves represents how life challenges us-often unexpectedly. These sometimes violent storms shift us much like the waves shift the formations of the rocks. We long for the stillness of the tide pool, but we find our strength when we are challenged by the storms.
Similarly, we want to see ourselves strong like the rocks, able to weather the most violent storms. But time softens us, heals us, the storms we weather wizen us. We are smoothed at the edges and anticipate the next storm, for which we increasingly know we can weather.
Rocks and Water as Self Portrait, MFA Thesis exhibit, Massachusetts College of Art, 1989.
This metaphor for life is why I have returned to the subject of rocks and water as self-portrait for close to 30 years now. The paintings in my MFA thesis exhibit from Massachusetts College of Art back in 1989 featured this same subject. Even then, as I was just starting out on my journey as an artist, I saw this connection between rocks and water and life’s journey. Here goes: day nine.
