My art as therapy

reteP said:
Yikes!
Yeah, we all suffer greif and loss in one way or another, especially lost expectations (of people, places, things and situations).

I found that we all come to a point of resolution as soon as we accept, and move on; which you obviously have _ good on you.
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Acceptance , forgiveness and self love helped me move on. Thats not to say I didnā€™t trip and stumble along the way or take one step forward two steps back. Itā€™s taken decades to get where I am so thank you for saying that.
 

After I left home (early 1970s), I became an alcoholic, and soon became homeless as well. I was introduced to AA, but did not do anything they suggested. So I kept on relapsing and going back to AA for the next 7 years. Then in 1988 I had an epiphany, and went back to AA and decided to listen without any 'ifs / buts'. I have been sober and clean ever since.

In 1991 I was two years sober. I was still fearful of relapsing again yet grateful to be sober. I did not want to be sitting on the fence any longer. So I decided to create a reminder of what two years of sobriety meant to me. At the time I just had a marriage breakup, left with only a trunk load of things, and got a new job in a new town.

So here I am in a bare rental, all nice and quiet. I got some used basic furniture, second hand books and national geographic (they are great source for images), and set up a chair for an easel. Oil paint was is not cheap, so I only used primary colours; and started to paint.

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This painting has always been hanging in my lounge room (which now is my studio - hobby room). It reminds me of how lucky I am to still be sober and drug free.

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About 14 years ago I was in Austria to compete in the Master Road Cycling World Championships. Unfortunately I crashed and was knocked out for 40 minutes until the paramedics found me. The helicoptered took me to the hospital for MRI scans, 11 stitches, (broke two teeth and lost one), and 48 hours observation. I cannot remember what happened, let along how it happened, except that I was alone at the time. Apparently I hit the road face first, and my carbon bike broke in four places (a write off).

After I was released from hospital...
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I packed up my gear and flew back to Australia. I noticed that I had trouble walking a straight line, and my thinking took a back seat (for a few months). The local doctor at home told me that I got a bit of brain damage from the fall. I still get reminded of it nearly on a daily basis whenever I suddenly lose a bit of my balance. During those early months of recovery I felt safer to ride my bike than I did walking.

All this was a bit confusing for me and I did not want to be that way. So I tried art therapy to see if anything will come to mind about what happened. To cut the long story short. I still don't know. As Jans Voigt (I think) once said, "why would I want to remember all that pain and suffering". So, what I got from this artwork was that I found comfort in believing that a divine hand kept me alive. Hence the beam of loving grace onto my head.

The art work is a collage, largely containing some of my broken and bloodied kit.

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I have this hanging in my sports room, above where I hang my bike. So I get reminded of how dangerous this sport is everytime I take my bike out for a spin. It prepares me to stay alert at all times.
 
While stuck in a small two room apartment, with steel bars on my windows, anybody would think I was in prison. It was a rental, and I was a full-time uni student, it was all I could afford. Anyway, I had a great urge to go bush, but I couldn't do that either. So I decided to have a go at painting a landscape scene. As I was painting, my frustration merged with the trees. I am a quirky person and so I created a quirky painting.

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I kept this painting while I was a student in the University of Sydney. The day I no longer needed to be there I left for rural areas of the Northern Rivers, and have been there ever since. Not long after I arrived there, a friend who was in a similar situation as I was, came to visit. He became the new owner of the painting.

Landescape Dreaming
Land Escape Dreaming - stri.jpg
 
reteP said:
While stuck in a small two room apartment, with steel bars on my windows, anybody would think I was in prison. It was a rental, and I was a full-time uni student, it was all I could afford. Anyway, I had a great urge to go bush, but I couldn't do that either. So I decided to have a go at painting a landscape scene. As I was painting, my frustration merged with the trees. I am a quirky person and so I created a quirky painting.

View attachment 354018

I kept this painting while I was a student in the University of Sydney. The day I no longer needed to be there I left for rural areas of the Northern Rivers, and have been there ever since. Not long after I arrived there, a friend who was in a similar situation as I was, came to visit. He became the new owner of the painting.

Landescape Dreaming
View attachment 354019
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I'm impressed! Thanks for sharing. šŸŒ¹
 
reteP said:
While stuck in a small two room apartment, with steel bars on my windows, anybody would think I was in prison. It was a rental, and I was a full-time uni student, it was all I could afford. Anyway, I had a great urge to go bush, but I couldn't do that either. So I decided to have a go at painting a landscape scene. As I was painting, my frustration merged with the trees. I am a quirky person and so I created a quirky painting.

View attachment 354018

I kept this painting while I was a student in the University of Sydney. The day I no longer needed to be there I left for rural areas of the Northern Rivers, and have been there ever since. Not long after I arrived there, a friend who was in a similar situation as I was, came to visit. He became the new owner of the painting.

Landescape Dreaming
View attachment 354019
Click to expand...
I love this painting very much. It reminds me of an exhibition I saw once where I live. I think it was titled Bastards from the Bush and it featured Pro Hart and others from the Broken Hill area.
 
Warrigal said:
I love this painting very much. It reminds me of an exhibition I saw once where I live. I think it was titled Bastards from the Bush and it featured Pro Hart and others from the Broken Hill area.
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I like Pro Harts work, though I hope to see his work, in the flesh so to speak, one day. I have a book on him called The Tribute, but prints are not the same as the real thing.
 

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