Valley of the Souls

This piece taught me a lot. I was really drawn to spring colors, and working with them lightened me up, as the March sunlight flooded my studio.

I was thinking about rivers, rain, and the word Hope. I spontaneously painted two different iChing symbols. I thought that was odd, since it’s been years since I consulted the old oracle. The first one stood for “Resolution,” and the second, for “Synergy.”

Valley of Souls
2015 | 30 x 30″ | paints on stretched canvas | original $1200, prints from $20, free s/h

I learned to take my time and not rush with this piece. I let it rest until the next movement came to mind clearly, without trying to force anything. This made me feel a lot more confident about the process, trusting the visions that came, slow as there were at times.

I also played more with layers, blocking out parts of the first layers with large swaths of color. This made the spaces left open really pop, which I love! It allowed me to frame certain aspects to highlight.

Another lesson I took from this process was to let negative space be. I’ve been tending to fill everything up, but I wanted this piece to have some breathing room. I really had to fight myself to stop when I did. But I didn’t want any clutter, and I’m really happy with how it turned out!

♥ ~ Meghan Oona

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