For those of you who have been reading my recent thoughts here or on social media*, you might have seen that this painting has been slow in coming to fruition and/or was accomplished in fits and starts. Here’s the back story:

February was filled with family gathering and marking of milestones. Houseguests came and went. Big fun and exhausting. Also, I was preparing for March in which I was scheduled for total hip replacement surgery. So along with tacking down throw rugs and getting a stool for my shower I was completing the drawing for this painting. I believed that once I was on the mend I’d be anxious to get back into the studio.

Everything went well surgery-wise, but recovery has been full of fits and starts. Sitting in one place for any period of time proved difficult. I had persistent pain and difficulty getting around. I did get back to painting but my focus and attention easily waned. I was unhappy with most of the work even though I posted progress almost every day I had anything to show. Up until the day I put down the brush I wasn’t sure whether I was proud of this piece or not. But I finished and signed it nonetheless. I am happy with it, it turns out. My sour attitude towards myself colored the way I looked at my painting and my recovery.

It’s amazing how easily we can lose perspective. On those painful days – both physically and creatively – nothing seemed to be right with the world. And there were too many of those days. I’m seeing a light at the end of the tunnel now as the pain abates and my strength increases. I look at the painting with new eyes as well. I turned things around, quite literally; originally, the painting was in portrait orientation but at the very end I flipped it onto its side and voilà, the floral cornucopias poured out their true nature. I’d been looking at it wrong all this time.

Yes, I think it was good enough to sign, it was plenty good enough.

*You can follow my progress on Instagram where I share my day’s work pretty much until the piece is done.

Painting: Plenty © Lissa Banks 2022