Breakers

“Original. Acrylic. Matted. 10 x 10 inches

Listen to “Breakers” here.

Something I love about this painting is…the way the negative white space holds the wave droplets of blue from the bottom right square scrape. This is one of my “Scrapings” and one of the things I love about this process of painting is how unpredictable it is. It’s always a practice of freedom from control and perfectionism. This favorite part of mine is there only because I let go of control. I love the squelch of acrylic paint and how it squishes and then when I lift off my scraper, there’s some cool pattern left over.

The meaning behind the title is…my parents and I went to an RV marina resort in central Minnesota when I was about 10-13 years old. It was called “Breakers.” I learned to fish out there on Lake Mille Lacs and I loved staying in our Airstream trailer and doing stuff by the water. Breakers are the waves that break against the land. You can see the whitecaps (which is partly played out in the white negative space of this piece) of the breakers and it just reminds me of happy summers with my mom.

“Breakers”
A Poem By: Molly Ovenden
Riding edges of water

smooth glass mirrors
seagulls flitter disturbing
calm into waves

walleye leap munching,
surface ‘squitos hover,
perch feast bubbling,
humid mayflies dance,
northern pike fighting,
slimy leeches slither
calm into waves

foamy white ripples
eagles rest observing
active waters cascade

sapphires ebb to wake
loons laugh beckoning
calm into waves
into crashing breakers’ spray

Riding edges of water

Try this:
Close your eyes and take a couple of deep breaths. Then, open your eyes and pause for another couple breaths as you look at this painting called, “Breakers.”

Which part are you drawn to most: The straight, clean edge of the top squares? Or, the uneven edge of the bottom squares?

God, why might this stand out to me today?

How do you respond to this collection of blues?

God, what might You want to say to me about this color?

Thank You, God, for being with me in this moment of reflection.