Consuming Fire

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24"h x 24"w x 1.5"d

Acrylic and Mixed Media on Canvas, 2019

"This painting was one of those pieces that became an exercise in destruction and creation, it took me through a series of changes and movements that for me was difficult to solve and take the piece to the point where I was comfortable with its composition. To no avail, I worked on this piece and finally I put it down for the better part of two years, maybe more. It needed to sit away from me - and out of my sight because I couldn't pull it into a place where it spoke. I abandoned it - for a very long time..."

...then when I took it from its storage space one day I was surprised at what I saw. I remembered it well enough but a set of fresh eyes gave me real insight about this piece. I loved it like it should have been when I turned it around and placed it in storage. This is the point at where I saw the fire on the left side had consumed the subject - whatever it had been - and the burnt ground now made the image complete.

Taking the time to just study the image for a while I was reminded of Deuteronomy 4:24 "Understand, therefore, this day, that the LORD thy God is He which goeth over before thee: as a consuming fire..."
As I thought about the truth of this verse, and how it had applied to my life over the last year or so - I saw the truth of the name "Consuming Fire" in the painting before me. How appropriate, I made a few very minor changes to the piece and tagged it with the name on the back. Now here it is, one of my favorite works and one of the best examples of why this artist cannot be separated from her work.