Great Blue Heron "The Peace of Wild Things"
The year 2020 has sent us all to seek "The Peace of Wild Things". Unable to gather indoors, we have flocked to the hills, to the valleys, to the lakes and streams of our great outdoors. Each time I visit my local state park https://www.prickettsfort.org/ I search for the great blue heron.
My husband has been able to capture great photos of herons at our local park. I have provided a link to his blog below.
I used his photos and the tutorial by Louise Di Masi to create my watercolor painting. Louise has a YouTube tutorial which I found helpful:
This painting came along at a time in my life when I needed it most. The unexpected and sudden loss of a loved one sent me reeling. The year 2020 saw us lose the youngest sibling in our family to depression. All the stages of grief overwhelmed me, including disbelief, denial, anger, guilt, and sorrow. Questions circled in my head: Why, How could she, Why didn't I, and How did this happen? I turned to my family for comfort, to the healing powers of nature, to the written word, and to my favorite poets. The poem that came to mind then and comforts me still is, 'The Peace of Wild Things' by Wendell Berry. I sketched, I painted, I worked, I got through it all somehow.
Holidays will be especially difficult for a lot of us this year, not only those of us who have lost loved ones. Many family gatherings will not take place because of pandemic restrictions. We will visit via skype, zoom, facetime, or by the old fashioned phone call. But we will visit, we will hear the voices and see the faces of our loved ones and that will carry us through.
If this year leaves you feeling despondent, know that you are not alone. Reach out. Resources are available. Some can be found here:
https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/
https://www.crisistextline.org/
We really are all in this together.
Helen