Super Charging the Mind's Eye

Super Charging the Mind's Eye

My palette like a mantra
under the light of the full moon…

With her palette muted, painting outside under a full moon, Alicia R. Peterson reached deep inside to find that she is not alone. More of her work appeara in the April issue of The Woven Tale Press.


By Alicia R. Peterson


Communication Alicia R. Peterson 40x20 Linen I stood under the moon for a long time meditating on the blank canvas, pulling up creation from the essence of my being. I chanted the color locations on my palette like a mantra so I could remember them. Because of the low light, all the colors were muted. Painting this way supercharged my mind’s eye. I gestured on the canvas what was deep inside me…
Communication
Alicia R. Peterson
Acrylic on linen, 40X20 in.

I was slogging through a stretch of intense loneliness. It felt too big to bear, too big to paint. I knew I was avoiding what needed to be painted, what needed to be felt. Even though I remained consistent in my studio practice, I steadfastly denied this painting. Canvas size and colors had been set for some time. I knew the ground; the first layer must be yellow, a rare choice for me. But still I could not put paint on the canvas and the empty canvas mocked me.

…for the first time I painted outside with only the light of a bright full moon.

Communication was finally birthed in the wee hours of the night when for the first time I painted outside with only the light of a bright full moon. I stood under the moon for a long time meditating on the blank canvas, pulling up creation from the essence of my being. I chanted the color locations on my palette like a mantra so I could remember them. Because of the low light, all the colors were muted. Painting this way supercharged my mind’s eye. I gestured on the canvas what was deep inside me until I stepped back exhausted and brought the work into my studio to dry. I barely looked at the painting, I had no energy left.

The next day, I woke up way too early, eager to return to my studio. As I viewed the work, I had an epiphany. I was not alone; I had created friends on my canvas. They were talking on my canvas, not with their mouths, but with their insides. Yes, I felt (feel as I write this) a little crazy thinking my painting was talking to me without words, but I was comforted by my new abstract friends.

I chanted the color locations on my palette like a mantra…

Communication #3, 2015 Alicia R Peterson. Acrylic on linen, 24 in. x 36 in. $1800 Photo: Peter Scheer
Communication #3, 2015
Alicia R Peterson
Acrylic on linen, 24X36 in.
Photo: Peter Scheer

I eagerly set to work on this new series. I have never worried that I would ever become so obsessed by a particular work that I could not stop…but I could create these paintings for the rest of my artistic life and still have more to paint. I continue to work on this series and I am not sure it will ever be finished. It feels soul-deep in its universality.

I eventually did find room for other creations, but still I am drawn—oh so strongly—to my abstract friends whose insides are showing on my canvas.

I have so many words for this piece, but I am hesitant to color your experience. What do you hear from the inside? Leave a comment below.

Visit Alicia R. Peterson’s website here.
See her work in The Woven Tale Press Vol. IV #3.

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