
Discover more from PTSD and Art
In dark times, art is my visual expression of hope. Hope is a wondrous thing. It ignores the odds. It dances on the head of rational despair and does battle with PTSD. But it is more than a positive attitude. It’s like a ride on some greater force—a connection to the currents.
Vincent Van Gogh was born into two worlds—revolutionary art and passionate religion. He hoped to find a post-impressionist style but flew beyond form to obsession that culminated in art that soars—that is no longer grounded in actuality.
Wassily Kandinsky believed that you had to steep yourself in the possibilities of the heart to help in the building of a spiritual pyramid that touches heaven.
In this painting of my Sabino Canyon series, subject matter and style are irrelevant—it’s an expression of the spirit of the place...a place I know so well. I believe art has to pass through the soul—not just from eye to hand. It is the soul where hope resides.
Hope is not a mere wish. It’s not a dream that floats in a fantasy. It has to have substance—something attainable. It is not enough to fear rapidly expanding Artificial Intelligence. It is not enough to hope that the next pandemic, or the next war or the rumored invasion of space aliens will not rip through civilizations and turn people against each other.
We have to openly share our humanness to sail above the fear—to reach for the spirits that touch the supernatural. We have to look back to the ancients, to the hope and vision that gave us a common beginning and a common purpose. We have to connect through the currents.
Art and Soul
Another great one