on circles
The circle is the simplest form I’ve been working with. Whereas painting a skull challenges me to access multiple levels of consciousness, in the circle I’m returning from my right to my left hemisphere, and back to the breath in a defined space. Painting circles is breathwork for me; my breathing recalibrates when I work in that shape. One full circle is an inhale and an exhale, and I’m always going in the same direction: clockwise. It takes a single circle to come back into my body, and that typically feels complete. But sometimes I’ll paint many circles in a row, because that repetition of the breath is a balm in my body.
I gravitate toward circles when I’m tired because they allow me to activate that spiral energy. The colors fluctuate with the amount of energy I’m attempting to activate: color is essentially a factor of how much energy is running through my body.
Reverence
Tranquility
Generosity
Gratitude
Allowance
Joy
Wonder
Grief