Hyperbola of Nice

"Hyperbola of Nice" - Oil on Canvas

I completed this painting in spring of 2009, after my first trip to Nice, France.   I only stayed for a long weekend.  I call this painting the Hyperbola of Nice because after I returned, I felt worlds had collided, and something new had opened up inside of me.   A new energy in my life, an awakening of the spirit.   I did not know then the adventure and future that would unfold and develop for me.      

It has been almost a year since my last trip to Nice, returning with the remainder of my paintings.   I made a new years resolution to not dream or reflect back too much on the past;  to not live in the past and compare the past with the present.   In doing so, I have been able to feel a new sense of belonging in my home in Indiana, and l have not felt the restlessness that used to call me to a life far away.    I have truly found calm.  One of my friends noted that I am very "centered".   

My life here does not have all the architecture, culture, and food that I still love and miss.  Sometimes when I am walking I can feel in my world around me a dullness, and the environment (the city) is wrapped in a cold rainy grey.   But inside of me I feel a Light.   A joy inside of me that makes everything worthwhile.   A feeling of home.

I am working on a new painting.  I want it to reflect all the centeredness that I am feeling.  I am hoping to produce several of the same subject to study different textures, colors, and techniques of overlay.   It's been a slow process, but a bright spot in my life for grey winter days.

In the last week, I found myself reflecting again to all I miss overseas.   Indiana has had a few sunny days that felt like the Spring that I remembered in France and Italy.   I remembered my New Year's resolution.  I'm not ready to return yet.  I will return when I no longer anticipate how I am going to navigate through drama.