The Arts and Healing

Arts and Healing have long been closely intertwined.  In the years before Hippocrates, the healing temples of ancient Greece surrounded patients with paintings, sculpture, gardens, fountains, music, poetry and storytelling.  An environment rich with art was seen as therapeutic, providing a means to alleviate physical discomfort and emotional distress.

Florence Nightingale, in her book Notes on Nursing, described the patient's need for beauty, even to look out a window or gaze at a vase of flowers: "People say the effect is only on the mind.  It is no such thing.  The effect is on the body, too."

If you, or someone you love, is sick physically or emotionally, consider beautifying the space around you or them with flowers, a water feature, art or peaceful music.... it really does make a difference.

Returning Insight    (30 x 48)   Giclee Prints Available

Love Story, Sarah Goodnough Painting

Love Story - 36 x 48 Acrylic Painting on Canvas - Original Sold - Giclee Prints Available

Love Story was a romantic piece that came about because of my passion for roses. I have had the idea to paint roses for awhile and decided to add the birds in a tree to this contemporary impressionist painting. I can just imagine looking up at the moon while sitting with my loved one in this old English garden.

Birds in Flight Paintings

On the Rise (40 x 30) Mixed Media, Original Sold

Lunar Migration (24 x 24) Mixed Media on Canvas, Original Sold

Winged Ascension (36 x 48) Acrylic on Canvas, Original Sold, Prints Available

Flight (36 x 48) Acrylic on Canvas, Original Sold, Prints Available

Embarking Daybreak (36 x 48) Acrylic on Canvas, Original Sold, Prints Available

Crimson Flurry (24 x 24) Mixed Media on Canvas, Original Sold

Coastal Migration (24 x 24) Mixed Media on Canvas, Original Sold

5 O'clock Meadow (30 x 30) Acrylic on Canvas, Original Sold, Prints Available

Taking Flight (40 x 30) Mixed Media on Canvas, Original Sold

I have always been captivated by watching birds fly. This series was inspired by capturing that fleeting, beautiful moment when a flock of birds gracefully takes flight. They are so in tune with one another, I am always in awe of their directional instinct, powerful wings, light bodies, and elegant flying ability.

I used silver and gold leafing in some of these as a design element. Many people say they see a rock wall, and like the juxtaposition of manmade structure and nature. I like to let people use their own imagination to make sense of the abstraction. By putting a recognizable concrete subject like birds in the picture, the brain is forced to bring understanding to the background.

I do have giclee prints of some of these paintings available in print sizes, 18 x 27, 24 x 32, 30 x 40 and 36 x 48. The silver and gold leaf do not print well, so there are not any giclee prints available paintings with this element.

Tree Sketches for a Commissioned Painting

Thumbnail sketches for a commission that I am working on. The client wants to have four large paintings of a tree that changes with the seasons to hang over their fire place. It will be a vertical 40 x 60. I will work a few of these into some colored renderings that give the client some ideas and choices for their paintings. It is good to clarify and narrow down what they envision for their home.

I typically do not work from sketches, but it is nice to come up with several concrete ideas. Perhaps a few of these will show up in some other paintings of mine. It is exciting for me to think of all the color possibilities with the same scene, and the same shaped tree, creating so many different paintings around one concept.

Inside My Art Studio

After moving in July, I have been working in my new studio. It has been freeing to be in a larger space that I can step far back and see my paintings at a distance. I am so grateful and working on making it my dream studio.

I am currently in the process of remodeling the space... my significant other doesn't care to hear my music through the paper thin/non insulated ceiling, and I can never seem to play my music loud enough:-) I am thankful that he is an architect and knows how to fix the situation. I also am having adequate lighting put in, painting the walls and putting in new flooring ... I am so excited, truly a kid at Christmas.

I have been working around the contractors, putting away all my supplies and bringing them out again when they are gone... it definitely is a minimalist working situation at the moment.