The importance of “balance” came into focus once I realized I had lost it.
There was a time in my life when busyness, career success and striving was the norm, and I was burnt out —I had lost my energy, my focus, and my commitment to my current path in graphic design. Everything on the outside was looking fine. A beautiful young family, home, friendships, community involvement. I eventually discovered that balance for me was not doing a little bit of everything with some good time management.
We are often at war with ourselves – you have to make peace between your heart and your mind.
Source Unknown
My mind seemed focused on performance, success, controlling, doing, pleasing, while my heart was leading somewhere else – exploring, feeling, resting, being. With prayer, some help and a stress leave I began to edit my life. Choices, boundaries, what to hold on to, what to let go of? There are consequences — which I think is often why we fear letting go of things. I was considering a career shift and I feared the changing perceptions of others and possible failure. My consequences upon making a change were a tighter budget, but more time. Fewer acquaintances, closer friendships. Reduced stress, more joy. Less obligation, more permission. More risk, less security. More courage, less confidence. More trust, less self-reliance. It took time. Balance is a life-time project.
Art imitates life. I saw that there was a beauty that existed in the everydayness — in the rhythms and experiences of being. A pivotal moment towards change and a shift in my thinking occurred after reading an essay which considered that painting could become a form of prayer. My art began to include a sense of quietness and solitude and light effects previously unseen, explored in paint.
Interior in Yellow
(click on images to enlarge)
Life imitates art. I sought to edit my life to create more time and space. This dedicated time for more contemplation and self-awareness allowed me to consider painting as a new creative path. As I risked failing and began exploring, I slowed down. I began to notice more, to enjoy the passages of light in my surroundings, and to pay more attention to my interior life and personal wellness. As my paintings have become less descriptive and more exploratory, I find myself asking more questions — about my expectations, my beliefs, and my focus. I am discovering a willingness to be more open and a growing awareness of all that I do not know.
On The Way To Where I Want To Be
The dignity of the artist lies in his duty of keeping awake the sense of wonder in the world. In this long vigil he often has to vary his methods of stimulation; but in this long vigil he is also himself striving against a continual tendency to sleep.
Artist Marc Chagall
Most recently my paintings seem to be related to equilibrium, inner space, boundaries — balancing the internal with the external but with enough variety and tension to maintain visual interest.
Red Rising
As a creator, I am concerned with achieving visual balance. Balance in art is one of the basic principles of design, along with contrast, movement, rhythm, emphasis, pattern, unity, and variety. An artist must use all of these principles with intention and skill to achieve a successful work. Achieving visual balance requires attention to the ‘weightiness’ of each of the elements in the art (line, shape, colour, value, space, form, texture) and how they relate to each other within the composition to create visual equilibrium. A balanced work seems stable, makes the viewer feel comfortable, and is pleasing to the eye. A work that is unbalanced appears unstable, creates tension, and makes the viewer uneasy. Sometimes, an artist deliberately creates a work that is unbalanced.
Autumnal
Visual balance can be achieved symmetrically, asymmetrically, or radially. To employ asymmetrical balance, the two sides of a composition are not the same (symmetrical) but appear to have an equal visual weight nonetheless. Negative and positive shapes are unequal and unevenly distributed throughout the artwork, leading the viewer’s eye through the piece. Asymmetrical balance is a bit more difficult to achieve than symmetrical balance because each element of art has its own visual weight relative to the other elements and each placement and decision affects the whole composition.
March Muse
The complexity of balancing all aspects of a painting usually requires simplifying and editing. I often have to be willing to sacrifice something, to cover up some of the good bits in order for the entire painting to come together and be successful as a whole. I notice the same fears surfacing during this process that occurs in making life choices. Will it be a mistake? Will I ruin it? These hold me back, and the best resolutions to the work often happen when I make big moves rather than continue refining what is already there. Perhaps the big changes can help us see more clearly what is important to keep.
Through the Woods
As the layers of our lives develop over time and some of the exciting and colourful bits become obscured by quieter seasons or darker spaces, I choose to see that all the beauty is there. Some of it is beneath the surface and adding texture, a record of past experience, all adding to the finished work and guided by my Creator’s hand.
Fragrant Offering
All paintings by Cindy Bouwers.
To find out more about Cindy’s work visit her website cindybouwers.com or follow her on Facebook or Instagram.
