Winter in Upstate New York (Watercolor)

I’ve become completely and totally addicted to The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.  For those of you not familiar, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel is a comedy series on Amazon Prime.  I started watching because a friend of mine suggested it and now I am an addict, truly an addict.  I binge watched Season 1 and 2 and now I have to wait for Season 3 but that’s not why I mention it here.  Why I bring this up is because one particular episode in the second season involves an artist, depicted as possibly insane and constantly inebriated or high.  He stands on the bar this particular night spewing forth wild collections of poetry, faux wisdom and nonsense as patrons look on with admiration and amusement.   Later there’s another scene in the artist’s studio where paintings line the walls, paintings the artist refuses to sell, but hidden in a back room is a massive painting that we the viewers never see, but the artist says, while showing it to Mrs. Maisel, “I painted this one for me.”

I painted this one for me…  Of course, as an artist myself those words hung in the air and have been swirling in my head ever since.  I painted this one for me.

Questions, of course, began to emerge.  Have I painted one for me?  Have I painted anything for me?  Do I paint them all for me?  Who or what do I paint for and if I had no concerns, desires, needs or aspirations what would I paint and who would I paint for?

The painting I posted here – Winter in Upstate New York – is one of many winter landscapes I’ve done.  I love the winter landscape here in Upstate New York.  The countryside with farms and old homesteads dotted here and there draws me in.  In my mind I create stories about who lives there, carefree and wildly happy.

Of course, the snow covered, winter landscape with shadows in shades of blue, purple or pink with color-filled hedgerows framing it all offers up captivating scenes.  I find it very exciting just after a winter snow to find what God’s paintbrush of snowflakes has done… always placing them perfectly here and there. I never tire of seeing or painting the winter landscape and conjuring up my stories and that brings me back to this question…

If no pressure existed in my creating art… what would I paint… just for me?  Would I paint the same type of winter landscape over and over again because I love it so much?  Or would I want to try something else?  Would I always be striving to be better, do better and paint that masterpiece?  If the striving stopped, would the painting stop?

Okay… enough of the questions already.  Let me provide one answer that I know without a bit of uncertainty.  I will paint as long as I am physically able and as long as I have breath I will think creative thoughts.  I will also listen to the words others have written – like dialogue in a comedy series – and ponder their meaning and how those words can be used to make me a better person.  That is what I learned while binge watching The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.  Marvelous!