Painting as Meditation

I have always seen painting as a process. In childhood, art was my go-to-place when I wanted quiet and comfort. Drawing and painting totally absorbed me and took me into a world of my own. Today it’s not so very different. I can spend hours in my studio with little awareness of time, yet I will have gone through an inner process of letting go and allowing the painting to speak to me and evolve as I work

Tree of Life Mandala by Judi Rose, 2015

My early days as an artist began with creating mandalas as a form of visual meditation. I found the process of creating each mandala healing and grounding. Working from the outside in took me into my own centre and brought me stillness and peace. As circles and cycles drew me in, I could see them reflected within the patterns, seasons and cycles within nature, and how they play out through the whole of life. After a year of exploring mandalas I had created a series focusing around cycles and seasons that went on show in 2016 as my first solo exhibition.

Detail from Across the Bay, Judi Rose

As my painting journey has evolved, it has moved towards a more abstract expression. I use my notes and observations to paint more from memory rather than replicating an actual scene. Often the painting is more a representation of the senses -the colours, sounds and smells of a place and the feelings they invoke. The act of doing becomes a meditative process that opens to allowing the mystery of the universe to speak through the paintbrush or palette knife.

I would like to hope that my paintings invite the viewer to come in, be held by the painting and relax in the space of it.

A bit like nature really.