First of all I'd like to mention the houses in the background. As in all of my paintings the houses have no doors. I never gave it too much thought until this morning. I guess I was just chalking it up to creative license . Since there aren't any doors one would imagine that entry and exit into the buildings has to be through the windows. That makes perfect sense, right? It simply means that I make my own opportunities rather than sitting around waiting for things to happen. I have been since I moved to Oregon in 2008. To an outsider looking in it might have looked as though I was doing anything but creating opportunities. At times I've certainly felt like I wasn't doing much, but in hindsight I can clearly I've been busier than even I realized.
White birds have been showing up in my work lately. Birds represent my goals, aspirations and high hopes and they give me a feeling of spiritual freedom and joy. I love to watch the birds soaring through the sky and remember the feeling of flight that I've experienced in dreams. When I paint birds I feel the weight of depression and anxiety lift from my being, and feelings of joy and love take their place.
In this painting I'm sitting on my suitcase. My bags are packed and I'm ready to go and my little imaginary fish friend is along fro the journey. But where are we going? As we wait to figure our our destination the thought of goats came to mind. I used to have a pet goat back in the early 80s - Nanny-O was her name. Who knows why Nanny-O came to mind, or goats in general, but since they did I had to paint them into the scene. Maybe they're just a silly distraction from the uncertainties of my life.
Then there is a blue moon in the sky. You know, once in a blue moon. Only once in a blue moon would I find myself sitting on top of my suitcase at the side of a country road with my imaginary fish friend in tow and silly little goats strolling by as I ponder what's next.