'Unbound', 16"x 20", Oil on Canvas, Contemporary Realism Still Life Oil Paintings by Paula Peacock

'Unbound'
by Paula Peacock
16" x 20"
Oil on Canvas

A breath of fresh air! After almost 3 years of my life being consumed and controlled by grief, being prescribed 3 anti-depressants and another drug to control the panic attacks, I have moments of feeling like Paula again. Those moments are stretching out a little longer each day. I’m still grieving and realize I always will. I still have ‘downer days’ but am able to crawl out with a lot of effort.

I’ve also, realize that I’ve been grieving Paula. I missed me being me, being happy, being able to handle whatever life dished out with an attitude of “No sense in worrying about what you can’t change, deal with it and move on”. I couldn’t deal with this one. I blame this faceless, nameless man of not only taking my sons’ life but of taking the lives of me and my daughter. I miss my son, my daughter and myself. What we were is gone. What we will be is yet to come. But, we will be.

I don’t know what happened to make life bearable again. But, I started noticing a difference after completing this painting. The sky is a bit brighter as the sun rises, symbolic of a new day, with the heavyweight of darkness being pushed aside. A beautiful blue butterfly releases the restraints of grief and anger, allowing me the ability to breathe again and to look forward to what the day may bring.

Art was my therapy. Some paintings take on a life of their own and this is one of those. It’s as though this was my last session with the therapist and I graduated. The lock is opened and the suffocating armor is falling away. After all, one can’t wear it forever. It gets rusty. Without realizing it, each sit down at the easel was another therapy session lasting almost 3 years

Art saved me. Art kept me moving forward. It became my purpose. I wish everyone had art. If anything comes of this I would hope that someday, someone will be able to relate to these paintings and sculptures in a much-needed way and be nudged toward healing their broken heart.

Live each day as though it’s all we have and remember to tell your children you love them no matter their age. They will never outgrow hearing it and we should never tire of saying it.

For purchasing information contact Paula HERE To view more of my work go to my WEBSITE

'Turquoise Jar and Grapes' Contemporary Realism Still-Life by Paula Peacock

Turquoise Jar and Grapes
By Paula Peacock
24" X 30"
Oil on Canvas

For purchasing please contact Paula at paulapeacock@rocketmail.com To view more of my work go to www.paulapeacock.com

OIL PAINTING LESSONS in LONGMONT, CO

Contact me (paulapeacock@rocketmail.com) if you're interested in oil painting lessons; private or group. I offer to mentor as well. I also hold workshops on The Basics of Handmade Paper, Making Paper Pulp Vessels, How to Paint Mandalas, Acrylic Pouring and more. Whew!
My studio is located in Longmont, CO

'Pandora's Box', Oil Paintings by Paula Peacock

'Pandora's Box'
Oil on Canvas
16" x 20"

Love, love, love how this one turned out! This painting was years in the planning stages. Planning of the composition, the subject matter, do I include Pandora or not? How to depict the evils of the world? How to depict 'Hope'? In the end, I decided Pandora was overdone and in other paintings I found, Pandora always seemed to be depicted as an overly sexy sex object and a bit on the 'witchy' side. So, I decided to save Pandora the humiliation and let her take a rest from this rendition by painting only the 'box'. All the other elements fell into place after I found the perfect vessel. The apple is representative of Eve, another woman blamed for the woes of the world. But, that will be another story in another painting.

Here's a bit of what I call 'useless information that stuck in my brain for no apparent reason'. It really was NOT a box but a bowl. I guess they didn't do the box thing way back then. There was a misinterpretation of the word bowl to box in the 15th century and it has stuck for the last 500 years.

OIL PAINTING LESSONS in LONGMONT, CO

Contact me (paulapeacock@rocketmail.com) if you're interested in oil painting lessons; private or group. I offer to mentor as well. I also hold workshops on The Basics of Handmade Paper, How to Make Paper Pulp Vessels, How to Paint Mandalas, Acrylic Pouring and more. Whew!

I am also a Reiki Master Practitioner. Reiki is a wonderful treatment that alleviates anxiety, stress, balances your chakras and facilitates energetic healing which in turn helps the body stay healthy and happy. Reiki does not cure but is a complementary treatment to Western medicine. I do not give medical advice.

To see more of my work go to www.paulapeacock.com

Contact me at paulapeacock@rocketmail.com