Consciousness- Bluebell Hedgerow Painting

Title:       Consciousness

Size:        61cmx91cm (24"x36")

Medium: Oil on Canvas

About this Painting:  A misty hedgerow of soft blues & greens with late bluebells nodding in the foreground, Consciousness is a painting full of depth & thoughtfulness. It brings an ambience of light & calm to its surroundings.

June 2021, a month of coming slowly out of lockdown & emerging back into what was once normal. As the streets began to fill with people, visitors arriving & socialising back on the cards I found myself wanting to hold on to the peace & solitude of home. What was once normality now feels strange & needs getting used to again.

The local lanes & hedgerows have been overflowing with wild flowers, but even Nature can't quite get to grips with things this year. Flowers have been blooming at the strangest times, either way too early , or carrying on long after their usual season. The bluebells are still going strong all around, when normally they would have given way to foxgloves by now.

As I painted the dappled, dreamy background on which my bluebells sit, I became strongly aware of my thoughts & feelings about what was going on around me. The meditative time of painting brought with it a sharp awareness of how my thoughts create choices & changes. The opportunity to really work out what level of 'being out there' I was happy with & how to take that into the future.

I've found myself becoming more reclusive & needing the peace & quiet of being in nature or painting on my terrace. These quiet moments have highlighted how being fully conscious of what I need can make my life better. How being awake & conscious to how my thoughts influence my actions make better choices possible.

Like my bluebell hedgerow, the fuzzy background thoughts become sharpened coming to the foreground & bring a greater knowledge of what I need to be happy.