December Joy © 2003 Chris Dunmire
An abstract acrylic painting on a blank book cover.
December Joy is a reminder that colorful vibrant
energy can be found to combat the depressive
grayness of short winter days — even if
we have to create it ourselves
Not trying to Monet about the gray skies, but...
By Chris Dunmire
Between the months of December and March, Chicago winters typically bring us cold blustery temperatures and heaps of snow. Winter months also mean less daylight and shorter days — and a notable absence of energetic sunshine.
I'm looking out my window this very moment at the gray sky sucking the color out of everything around it. My eyes capture an image that leaves me feeling drained and listless inside. What appears to be late afternoon is only 8:40 a.m. The depressive psychology of color couldn't be any more on target then at this very minute.
This time of the year is difficult for many who suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) and those of us who are affected by what we see and feel in our environments. At this time of the year — after all of the holiday glitter passes by — we can only hope for two things: the end of winter and the arrival of spring.
Not to fear — I'm going to steady myself for the long haul. In fact, I can't wait until a nice significant blizzard of snow comes by — as this year I'm going to make a sculpture worthy of freezing my hands and snapping shots with my digital camera. Might as well make the most of it creatively, right? Meanwhile, acrylic paint will have do the trick and hold me over until that nice pack-able snow comes in.
I present "December Joy" (above) — an abstract and expressive acrylic cotton pad painting (that's right, no brushes!) on a blank book cover I plan on using for a special project soon. "December Joy" is a reminder (to me) that colorful vibrant energy can be found to combat the depressive grayness of short winter days. Sometimes though, we have to create it ourselves.
Chris's 3-step joy painting burst to combat winter blahs:
Set yourself up in a well-lit room (turn on bright lights if the sunshine is not flooding in).
- Paint: Any paint will do — finger paint, watercolors, acrylics, or kid's tempera. The joyful key is COLORS — red, orange, yellow, blue, green, white — and lots of them!
- Canvas: Rustle up a canvas of some kind — paper, glass, wood, clay, metal. If using paper, thicker is better (real canvas, watercolor paper, or fingerpaint paper is recommended).
- Music: Put on some high-energy music that opens your heart and then paint with abandon. It's just paint, so don't be afraid to make guesses and messes in your unique process of creating joy. •
© 2003, 2008 Chris Dunmire. All rights reserved. |
