What Inspired “Sugar Over Sorrow”?

I had been struggling. Everything seemed so hard. Even this painting was a disaster.

Nothing could save it. A failing painting is not the same as a dying love, the end of my life as I knew it and the fear of what was next. But really, a crap painting sure didn’t make anything better.

The only thing I had was desperation, vibrant pink paint and the audacious hope that spreading it like frosting across a field of failure would make something better.

I grabbed my favorite color and a large brush and thought,

“I sprinkled sugar on my sorrow and it was delicious.”

This painting would be about living with new joys alongside struggle.

Strokes of green are a new sprouts of a life reborn.

The scaffolding swipes of black reshaped the picture plane as I was rebuilding my world.

You can also find new life and a fresh start at any time.

Seek out any sweetness that will soften the sorrow.

We all live with both.

Here’s to all that living.