Ever since we left our comfortable home in the city and moved to a little mountain farm, I had been without a dedicated painting place for two years. The farmhouse was in dire condition and we'd been going through an enormous remodeling for the past two years. During all this time, I was painting watercolor at all the odd places. Living room, dining room, bedroom, basement.. When the air was hard to breathe inside, I painted on the porch. When it got too hot and the old A/C unit quit working, I painted in the park.
It wasn't easy. I felt scattered everywhere, and I felt homeless for a long long time. But I did not want to give up painting and I painted wherever I could. I also had some lovely discoveries. When I had to paint right by the bed, I loved waking up in the morning and saw my painting tools lying right next to me. It was beautiful and inviting. When I went to the park, I was pleasantly surprised that my paintings got more alive. That made my heart pop.
Just a few days ago, we finally completed our farmhouse renovation and I, my friends, got my art room back!
I feel like bursting into tears as I write this. This new room is so ordinary, and yet so beautiful, warm and cozy. I don't know how this happened but whenever I'm in this room, I feel gently enveloped by Love.
And guess who did all the remodeling work in this room? My husband, and I helped a little bit too, including holding up that very heavy piece of drywall on top of my head!
Like a birthing process, after an extremely challenging period of two years, I got my art room back. We are still cleaning things up, but today, I made time to paint at my new room. Here is a little zinnia flower from our garden, and I love her. And it just occurs to me, that color, the brilliant orange, is my husband's favorite color. So, this is to the Love and Compassion that have carried us so far, till right here right now, and forward.
