A Special Kind of Love.

Uncategorized 2 Minutes

“To be an artist is to believe in life.” Henry Moore

I never had a proper wedding. But years ago, I attended a ceremony that I wish was my own. I didn’t know many of the people there. My husband was a high school friend of the groom but I didn’t really know anyone. I was shy and three months pregnant so I spent most of the wedding watching from the side lines while other people drank alcohol. I sipped on water wishing I could look as classy as the bride in her simple dress. We stuffed ourselves with homemade Ukrainian food but not the cabbage rolls. I still can’t eat cabbage rolls

My husband and I couldn’t afford a wedding gift. He was still a student and I had just graduated from art college which qualified me to do absolutely nothing. But I always said I’d make a painting for them. That was the plan at least. Between raising 2 kids and moving to another country and starting a career in nursing, I forgot about it. Years later, I was reviewing all my old sketches and I found the series I made that special night. Looking at those old sketches, I began making compositions in my head. They were all based on the church and drawings of people at the reception. Even though the image is based on the wedding, I took a great deal of license with the painting. I wanted the surface of the painting to be divided up with shapes of flower petals and it oddly made the church look as if it were made of stone. But really, it was a wooden structure, like most prairie churches. I had fun adding embellishments that weren’t really there, lines and shapes that offered nothing but the joy of playing with different colors next to one another. I allowed myself the pleasure of applying color, not just recording the images, but painting the emotions. There are many different incarnations of this drawing. One sketch has the bride and groom holding hands and flying through the sky like a Marc Chagall painting. But this was my favorite composition.

I brought the the painting to the couple 25 years after it was due. They’re still together and very much in love. The groom teared up when he saw it, obviously still smitten with his bride. I spent an evening with them drinking wine. They told me the story of how they met. Who can resist a romantic story when a man sees the love of his life and does whatever he can to be with her? It’s the plot of almost every romantic comedy. But it’s rarely seen in life.

On the bottom of the canvas I painted the words, “The sky was aflame with roses on the day she said I do.” They have the kind of love everyone wants but not many people get. This painting was for them and for everyone who can find a warm hand to hold at the end of the day and a soft voice to whisper “I love you,” into the shadows of our own loneliness.

This drawing can be downloaded at dalegreenearts.bigcartel.com

For more about Dale:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCab2kZ9Zt-OWhnI5ksRzmqA?view_as=subscriber
https://www.facebook.com/dalegreenearts/notifications/
https://www.instagram.com/dalegreenearts/
https://twitter.com/DaleGreeneArts?lang=en

If you want to read some of my fiction, download my book, Zoo of Human Frailties, for $2.99 USD https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B07YZ123DY

Published by Imdalegreene

Like many artists, I paint to put some order into a chaotic world. To reach into the turmoil and bring my hand back torn and bloody, dripping with the entrails of the human experience. I paint to climb a little higher on the shoulders of those who went before me, the colorful giants whose voices are silenced by death. The greater balance of time and love that teeters beneath us, swaying under every thought, every voice. "Don't play small," they would say if their lips could speak. "Don't waste time," they would say. I paint to honor the quiet whispers from below, the timeless urgings that rumble beneath the surface of my own skin.

Published

45 thoughts on “A Special Kind of Love.”

  5. I think that your story here is so beautiful, tender, touching, and honest and your art so fine, that I am happy you liked a post of mine and drew my attention to you. I would hope we would follow each other.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    1. They did. I was so happy to finish that project. Like a lot of artsy people I have a few too many WIPs and that one waited a little too long

      Like

      Reply

      1. Your welcome…I started drawing in 2013…I really enjoy it. I’m now looking forward to putting drawings with my poetry or prose.

        Liked by 1 person

      2. I think it’s really good for people to describe their inspiration. It gives depth to the experience. That’s what art is about, connecting with people.

        Liked by 1 person

  17. Somebody liked Lola. That person was also an artist, and when I was about to give her a like, your picture was at the bottom of her post. Perhaps, I’ve been reading the wrong types of blogs before now? Who is to say that Art is not worthy of following, just because other interests get in the way, distracting us towards something else. Your stories are engaging, as is your Art. I was just one of those students once long ago, that needed some credits at Junior College, so I took Art Appreciation. We moved from the Renaissance to Modern Art through a series of slides in which we were encouraged to take notes, or make our own small sketches to help us remember when the final exam came. Then we were invited to the Art Museum in Los Angeles. Our teacher was a docent there, and she conducted a private tour with us, showing, telling, making us remember about what we had learned, what we had seen. A few non-students tagged along, as they too wanted to understand what Art was, and why? Now I am here, and someone is both drawing and telling stories. A perfect combination for someone like me, who tends to write comments filled with stories, then excusing for doing so afterwards….

    Liked by 3 people

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