Life and Light

Another, rather special, commission has found its way home!

“Turning Towards Home” oil on canvas, 30 x 90cm

In an incredibly generous act to celebrate the completion of a self build, it was commissioned as a surprise house warming gift for my niece and her family by some of their friends. I had to sneak about incognito in the dawn light to get the material for the painting of their new house in the foothills of the Ruahines and it was very gratifying to receive this note from her in response…
“Wow! We just wanted to tell you how thrilled we are with your beautiful painting – the way it so encapsulates the rugged landscape out here and our place within it, the beauty of the hills and the cloud just as we so often see it, with the morning light playing across it. The title is so fitting, and as J said, its just as he sees “home” in the early morning when he gets in from night shift, right down to the closed curtains:-). We’ve settled where we are going to hang it and just love how it comes to life on the wall.

It is extra special knowing that you were the commissioned artist:-) and we feel so privileged to have a piece of your incredible art to hang in our home! Totally blown away by K and A’s generosity! I think they found it quite amusing watching us opening it. We had no idea, and with one of us at each end of the painting to open it, were trying to take it all in at once. I saw the detail in the grass first and recognised it as your work, before realising it was our house! Incredible feeling with the dawning realisation!

It also feels like such a fitting way to recognise the completion of this stage of our journey. So much emotion goes with that – its been 4 long years of hard work building our house, and beginning to work and restore the land, over which time we questioned ourselves many times as to whether we’d done the right thing, moving the whole family out here – 3 long winters in the shed! – but know now it was so worth it. This is home, and we can look forward to our vision for this place, both in terms of a more self-sustaining life, and that this will be a place of blessing to many. As I look at your painting now, I think a lot of J’s Dad and aunty; and of course Nana, all of whom we lost during the time of our build, who saw our little piece of land, and were excited for our vision. They would be so thrilled to see it as you have painted it today. Thank you for the treasure you have given us.”

Home is definitely where the heart is!

“TURNING TOWARD HOME

The moment you have spoken the exact words that describe your distance from where you want to be, the moment you have uttered the exact aching dimensionality of your own exile, you have already turned around, faced the other way and taken the first steps on the long awaited journey home…” ~ David Whyte: THE THREE MARRIAGES Re-imagining Work, Self and Relationship

see more of my paintings in the Paintings Gallery