My Many Colored Days – using art to express feelings

Recently, at my daughter’s preschool they had a copy of Dr. Seuss’ s book “My Many Colored Days”, by Dr. Seuss.  In Seuss’s classic rhyming way it brilliantly describes each day in terms of a particular color which is in turn associated with a specific emotion.They were teaching the three year olds in the group about recognizing feelings in a language they can relate to-Color! Have you ever felt that you have been taken in by a painting and truly felt it’s presence. It’s almost as if you step inside the feeling of the artist. A feeling that may have been fleeting yet captured in an instant within a painting. Making it a piece of an experience. A feeling frozen in time.

 We have all had those “blue,” days but we have hopefully had more of the bright”yellow” ones too. Because, we are all “feeling” beings and color can help us best express those feelings. Art can take us in and can make us feel through color. As an artist, I intuitively choose colors that express how I feel. I love the freedom of using color in such a way that is spontaneous but in the end relays a particular mood. What is important is that the underlying feeling of what I want to express is conveyed verses the actual representation.Yet, it is not through mulling it over that I get to the color that I am looking for. It is usually comes from that deep quiet place that bubbles up from within.

We have all had those feelings of being “Choked up,” when describing the tears that try to surface when we least expect it. This is when we are taken up by a moment that takes us off guard. I cannot think of a better way to feel then through paint. Paint can be the medium for our tears to flow forth. It can be the way we feel again if we have been suppressing feelings or putting them aside. The time can be dedicated for you as the painter to be present and just wait for what feelings arise. So, I will continue to paint my many colored days and in classic Dr. Seuss style,”it all turns out all right, you see. And I go back to being me.”