Visual Arts and Healing



Number Six (from my numberical series)
24 x 24 inches, mixed-media on wood

The Visual Arts have the ability to heal... "In 1 study, surgery or critical care patients who participated in guided imagery or had a picture of a landscape on their wall had a decreased need of narcotic pain medication relative to their counterparts and left the hospital earlier."

Consider the painting on the left, Number Six. Can you imagine being penetrated by the sharp edges of the Star of David? Not in a physical way, perhaps, but in a mental or spiritual way.

Gaze at the shape and let it change you somehow. Imagine it spinning, side to side. Imagine it moving closer to you like a buzz saw. Then, imagine the shape moving backwards inviting you to join it. What are the remaining parts of the painting doing? Do any memories pop up? What are you feeling? Perhaps you feel something but cannot put words to it. Healing on some level has begun. A new appreciation of some aspect of your life will appear. Be on the look out for new things happening.

Take note of how this art piece, or any other art piece has touched you somehow. Is that not healing? If we allow ourselves to be touched and transformed by the arts, can we find a newfound respect for the arts on the whole? Can we allow ourselves to spend money to buy art because of its essential nature? Art is nowhere mere decoration. It is stuff that can pierce open new vistas within your heart, mind, and spirit. Will you let it in?

Link to full article: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2804629/



Plein Air Painting Sans RV Camper

A friend recently inspired me to paint outside. This is what is called en plein air, or in plain air.

My canvases are in storage. Instead of buying more, I recycled a white cardboard box. I cut out two of the best sections for painting. The rest of the box became my seat. I had taken my portable paint box from storage during my last trip.

I set up across the street from a beautiful sight in Cottonwood, Arizona, looking toward Sedona. The mountains span a wide horizon.

I painted most of the scene and was preparing to paint my favorite part, the sky. Just then, an RV camper pulled up dead center covering 80 percent of my view! Before I could open my mouth in protest, the dude scrambles into the back of the camper. So, the painting received an intuitive and imaginary sky and finish to the foreground.

The fall colors are stunning right now. The color pallet in this painting is new for me as I normally end up painting with pinks, reds, and purples.

Sans RV Camper, Cottonwood, Arizona, approx. 6 x 12 inches, Acrylic on Recycled Cardboard. $60.00. Contact me, mary@maryfineart.com.

Until next week... Buy art, appreciate art, make art.

Mary Rush Gravelle is an artist creating in Cottonwood, Arizona with her beloved cat, Sir Kitty.

Dreams Passions and Affluence

This week includes of a repost of a video I did two years ago. Thank you to my dear friend, Kaleo Selah, who commented on it just two days ago. It helps me to re-member what I say so I can re-gather and re-create my intentions.

Thank you, Kaleo, for also commenting on another post and for stringing these two together. It is a photo of Tyra Banks, who says, "Don't chase the money, even if you want to be a banker. Chase the Dream. Chase the Passion." It gives me insight into creating affluence. I have always had a huge passion for my art and Igniting Your Intentions. I now have a huge dream for both. Perhaps this will help me in creating my dreams of having affluence and allowing myself to have the dreams that my passion keeps alive.

My latest, newest painting. I have a huge dream for this new series of paintings: From Phone Art to Canvas, Happy Art. It is a new dream, so the plans will be revealed when the time is right. This one, second in the series, is called Sunny Disposition, 36 x 36 x 1.5 inches, mixed media on canvas. Copyright 2013 Mary A. Gravelle and Mary Rush Gravelle.

The video above: Nov. 7, 2011. Mary A. Gravelle shares her ramblings on her Monday morning blog, My Art Notes. Today she talks about the affluent artist, quantum mechanics, and portrait painter, Alice Neel.