From the Art By Cedar Archives: The Big Sky

This is a perfect painting to share this time of year. Where I live, everything is starting to bloom and the spring gardens are planted!

The whole right side of the sky is dark and stormy, just like the stormy state of government affairs all around the world, and the many storms of infinite variety that people are going through in their personal lives at this very moment.

But this young tree perched on a rolling hillside is highlighted by the most gorgeous, warm glowing light. Birds are flocking to it, as if attracted to its abundance. Darling little flowers are popping in the lush grass of the foreground. In the big picture of life, I always look for this hope. It’s a miracle just to be here.

This painting is part of the fabric of my family’s story. I painted it as part of my independent study during my last semester at Goucher College in 2005. My Grandma (who through her life made the choice to cultivate her own joy and abundance) immediately loved the finished painting when she saw it. She bought it from me, making it my first painting sold after graduating with my art degree.

When she passed away 2 years ago, the painting moved to my parents’ house. I have a feeling this one might stay in the family for generations. Not something I ever considered at the time I created it!

Centering my life around creating art is a choice I’ve always made because, well, I just really want to create art!

However, it is also cool to think about the ripples that art makes down through families over time–how my art will continue to exist and change hands, maybe in unpredictable ways, long after I myself am gone. The digital documentation of artwork that happens these days further contributes to the immortality of art. Even if the original is destroyed, how long will its image bounce around in the cyber world?