New Painting: "Afternoon Walk", acrylic on canvas

There hasn't been much art on Artistta as of late. I've been working on small projects and mostly practicing over the last two months. Prior to that, my full time mom job was consuming my time and leaving me with little energy or creativity to do much else. Plus, cooking is a creative outlet for me. I love working with my hands and I enjoy experimenting, whether that's with food or art.

"Afternoon Walk", acrylic on canvas, 3 panels each 18"x36", ©Therese Asmus 2011

I am not an artist that can spend every waking moment creating on canvas. For me it's more of a release point. I have had a lot of heavy issues on my mind recently and in order to not get too weighed down or overwhelmed by depression or simple sadness, I begin to feel the need to grab a paintbrush and start taking some of my internal energy and put it forth on canvas. It's when I paint my best and am the most loose with my work. The more I force myself to be creative or perhaps "be an artist", whatever that's supposed to mean, the worst my work gets. Creating shouldn't be a burden, but a time to relax, to release and to enjoy what unfolds before you, no matter the medium or outlet.

Three details of "Afternoon Walk" ©Therese Asmus 2011

This painting was actually started last fall and has hung on my wall all winter long. I knew it wasn't finished, but I wasn't sure what I wanted to tackle on it next. So there it hung, behind our kitchen table. Daily I looked at it and thought about what I wanted to do with it. It was ready and waiting for the day that the "need" to paint would get to an overwhelming point and I would cast aside all the things on my full plate, ignore the filthy house, put aside the many blog posts I'd like to do and instead grab my brushes and paints.

The inspiration for this piece comes from a walk with my kids early last fall. There is a one to two week period where the end of summer overlaps the beginning of fall and the colors are at their most vibrant. I remember looking around at the beautiful colors on the nature path near where we live and thinking how great a creator our God is and what amazing inspiration exists in His work.

This painting will be going up for sale. If you have any interest or know of someone who would, please email me at artistta@gmail.com.