Sedona, How I LOVE Thee!

Published on March 18, 2010

Sedona Study: Cathedral Rock. Oil pastel on paper. 5 inches x 5 inches.

This past week Hansel and I have been on vacation. We had planned earlier to head to California for this week, but last minute changed our minds. So a “Staycation” it has been–and what a wonderful time at that!

Yesterday we went to our beloved Sedona, Arizona–which is only an hour and a half drive from our home (not close enough, I say!!). A trip to Sedona for us means hiking, Hansel shooting photographs, I putzin’ with my oil pastels and shooting video, yummy vegetarian food, and of course one of the greatest sunsets on the planet!!

Sedona Study: Oak Creek Canyon. Oil pastel on paper. 5 inches x 5 inches.

But this week has been amazing. I think more amazing then any ol’ trip to Cali could have ever been! We have spent our time enjoying the beautiful weather with Nyla, treating ourselves to eating out and making long, elaborate meals at home, and tons of creativity!!! Tons, tons, tons!! Every day I’ve been painting, drawing, or immersed in my Art Journal–while Hansel has been totally marinating in the goodness of his photography.

Sedona Study: Oak Creek. Oil pastel on paper. 5 inches x 5 inches.

But I learned something…again. Something that is always with me..deep, deep down in the depths of my Creative Juicy heart. Something I know for sure, but push aside so often–to work harder–in the pursuit that I think by doing so I will be fulfilling some kind of “purpose”–when, after a week like this, I realize–with all my being and beautiful soul…that my real “purpose” is simply to create. To pick up the paintbrush, to push the oil pastel around, to doodle in my sketchbook. This–and only this–has been the one constant and steady thread of bliss throughout my entire life.

Yesterday as I sat, with my ass aching on a rock, in the belly of Oak Creek Canyon I thought I could do this forever and never care if I sell a lick, or anyone champions my work, or if it ever goes anywhere other than the pocket in the back of my Moleskin journal.

When I was a little kiddo, we lived down the streets from a great park–with tons of trees, grass, and a babbling creek that ran through it. I used to sit for hours, like yesterday, painting and drawing. When I was a teenager, I actually used to cut school to do the same thing as well!! I have no idea what ever happened to those pieces, and I know at the time I never even cared. Art for me has rarely been about the final product–it is about seeing the world, taking it in, and expressing myself through color, line, and pattern–a language that has been a part of me since childhood. So why do I let myself become disconnected from this river of LOVE that flows continuously through me? Why do I allow my choices to dam up this precious energy?

No more. Nope. Noway. Uh uh.