Solo Show enter- The Wolf

NEW PAINTINGS BY BECKY BLAIR

enter- The Wolf

12th-23rd April 2016

gallery 40, 40 Gloucester Road, Brighton, BN1 4AQ open everyday from 11-6 or by appointment call 07729034158

Being an artist who never believed in suffering for her art, my past work had focused on the light and joy of living. My paintings were filled with colour, and my goal was to bring happiness through beautifully composed imagery. In hindsight I now see that life as ‘blessed’ in its rosy glow that knew no misfortune.

These new paintings are about a very private and personal experience where suffering defined my every moment, I became the antithesis of everything I believed I was. Stuff happens to all of us, knocks the stuffing out of us and suddenly life is irrevocably altered. From the shock of my own fragility, with no choice or control, I slid fast into a dark version of me where hope was all but lost. Unable to do anything I had previously done, due to a condition I eventually found out was Lupus. I couldn’t breathe, eat, walk or sleep without pain, it was beyond any imagined hell and I was utterly terrified.

Though this work does not dwell in the suffering, it is imbued with a richer appreciation of happiness through a deeper understanding of pain and loss. As I have regained my strength, I can now reflect on those events. And with clarity and altered perception I can explore that journey.Because there is light, light at the end of this tunnel. This work pursues the joy and gratitude to be alive and well. Humbled by the insight of my experience, I feel so fortunate to be in better health. I now know how precious and fragile the balance of our lives actually is.

My personal mantra these days is to slow down, look up, pause to soak it all in, and in turn let it all go.