Portrait of Rage

I finally found the motivation to start painting again

I haven’t felt the urge to paint for months. The political climate, the chaos, the pain of our country and of the world…it has all felt like too much trauma. I find that it can freeze and immobilize me. 

And then a thought started popping up in my brain. What if I tried painting the rage that I felt? What if I let some of that out onto a canvas? I have written about it, which helps. So, why not paint it as well.

I have never painted fury before. Now I had inspiration. I have a sign that I take to protests with a photo of Lady Liberty hiding her face in shame, embarrassment, and sadness. And now I have an additional image, an image that expresses what I feel we need to tap into more. An image of Lady Liberty’s righteous wrath that expresses ENOUGH. 

I am not sure how we will turn things around in our country, but turn it around we must, or at least begin. It will take some time, I believe, and I may not be around to see it finally happen, being an elder with much less time ahead of me than behind me. In the meantime, I will do my part. I cannot sit idly by and watch our country and what it really has stood for be destroyed by a tyrant and his sycophants. Cults are dangerous. Lies become the norm and chaos confuses everything. ENOUGH. 

My portrait’s face emerged clearly to me as I painted what I felt inside me. I could feel the pain in her eyes, the storm inside, the sense of betrayal and determination to fight back for what she has stood for, and the strength pulled up from deep inside. Yes, we can feel sadness, but we must also tap into our fire and power, our vast power that they are attempting to quiet and discourage. 

I kept painting. I saw the furrows in her brow, the fire in her eyes, and felt the burning flowing from me and through me to what was showing up in front of me. 

I want to remember what Lady Liberty has stood for all of these years, what we have been proud of, what message she has tried to spread. We have been far from perfect with her message, but at least there was the intention to include, welcome, and embrace. It is, I believe, what has made our country great…to come here and become an American, with your own roots and to all work together to be better, to do better, and be one in our intention and purpose. 

This is not what we are seeing now. And I am furious, as are so many of us. Rage is powerful.

 For most of my life I was taught to swallow my anger, to dampen it, suppress it, push it aside. 

No more.

One of the joys of aging for me has been the growth toward being who I authentically am. And right now I am authentically enraged. I am also disheartened, demoralized, sad, hurt, in shock, and infuriated. It’s time to claim this fury and use it for good, to come together to turn things around.

We had to have a revolution before, and we may have to do that again. So be it. Sometimes you have to fight for what is right. Sometimes the boundaries need to be clearly drawn and defended. Sometimes you have to get their attention with a show of strength before they can hear what you are saying. Sometimes you have to be louder, angrier, relentless.

An artist’s canvas is not only about peaceful beauty. Sometimes it is about powerful, raw beauty. It is about fighting for what is right, about ferocious love, determined kindness protected by power and strong boundaries…holding hands, marching together, making calls, donating, protesting, screaming, voting. 

We are all artists… painting our lives, writing our lives, speaking our lives, singing our lives, each finding our own way to allow our voices to come out and speak the truth of who we are and who we want to be. Together we have more power than we realize, more than they want us to realize. Do not believe the lies about you. You are more powerful than you think. You are no longer a child who cannot fight. ENOUGH.

Let’s use our brushes, our pens, our voices, our microphones, our souls…and let us come together. We must fight. We must revolt. We must tap into our strength, the strength that also comes with kindness, compassion, and pure anger. Let’s create a portrait of rage that can help speak what must be expressed.

We must become what a friend of mine called my painting when she saw it…a bad ass Lady Liberty, one who has had enough.