Beautiful Life is the painting for Jeannene. Jeanne mentioned several things in her interview that gave me the imagery for her painting.
Determination
The first thing was that she used the word determination as an attribute that helped her in her recovery. While I was thinking about that word, the image of the “little ant” came to mind. You remember the song… “Just what makes that little old ant, think he can move a rubber tree plant? Everyone knows an ant can’t move a rubber tree plant. But he’s got High Hopes…”
I know the song doesn’t mention determination. When I hear it I imagine that ant, grabbing the plant and plowing through until it was where he wanted it. That brought to mind rock climbing and that was when I had my “ah-ha” moment. I knew that was perfect imagery to show determination.
The Promise
Jeannene’s therapist was the next imagery trigger for the painting. She said, “One day you’re going to look around and be so happy and life is going to be so beautiful- it’s going to take work to get there but you’ll never see it if you don’t give yourself the opportunity to live to see it”. To go along with the rock climbing imagery, I needed some kind of “rocks”. It had to be mountains. The series of mountains expressed the many obstacles that have to be overcome in the recovery process when one goes through a trauma.
The Mountain
This mountain range shows those obstacles we see clearly and also those that are farther away. When recovering from a trauma, there are many ups and downs, however, we need to be determined. It takes that to fight through those downs. We fight until, like the rock climber in the painting, we can see far enough ahead to see that it is a beautiful landscape.
The Beautiful Life
The last imagery in the painting is the hazy distant landscape. This is a metaphor for the future. We don’t always see what is there, but from the top of the mountain, we can see that whatever the future brings, it is a beautiful landscape and well worth the climb.
How to Get Involved
Have you fought hard and achieved a level of recovery to you can begin to see your Beautiful Life? I want to tell your story. Contact me at studio@kateshafferfineart.com You can also get involved in helping rescue someone or help in their rehabilitation. Contact Give Them A Voice Foundation at http://www.givethemavoice.foundation/