Enlightenment is one of the first oil paintings that made a true transition from my more abstract photography to oil painting.  After years of working with photographic images, I began to feel the need to move in a way that could allow me to become not only emotionally involved with my creations, but physically.  Although setting up a photo shoot continues to thrill me, I wanted to immerse myself completely in the creative process… literally get lost in my work, music, emotions, movements, and paint textures.

The realization of Enlightenment took place with some of my Twitter and Facebook friends joining me online during the creative process on my Atelier Bellanda Facebook Page, where the idea of opening of my Atelier Doors was born.  Photos were posted during the painting process to give online Atelier Visitors the chance to see, comment and participate in its creation.

For this first painting, I knew what colors I wanted to work with and even the music that I would listen to while working. However, I had no idea what I was going to paint, nor how it would make me feel.  Ludovico Einaudi’s music filled my Atelier and a thrill of excitement took over my being as I guided that very first long brush stroke across the large blank linen canvas, measuring 100×73 centimeters. At that moment, I knew I had just found the change that I had been looking for in my artistic expression.

I allowed Einaudi’s music  to take my inner-self  somewhere it had never been.  There was a moment during the painting process where I was no longer conscious of anything around me.  The music and slow dance-like movements of the brush had taken me into an almost hypnotic state.