24” x 36” x 3/4” canvas, black painted edges, ready to hang

Ink, acrylic and pastel

This painting was created using the text of one of my favorite Rumi poems. I was inspired by the line, “what forty early mornings will give to your gradually growing wholeness”. I am not a morning person, but I like the concept of devoting oneself to something. I did forty days of painting, committing to paint every day. There were days I struggled to complete the task, days I felt too tired or uninspired. What I learned was that in order to create, you must be in the studio. You have to show up. Inspiration and creativity will come if you put in the work. I used the text like lines in a landscape painting. I blended pastel and ink over an aqua green background. The text is written with a dark blue ink. I used pastel to add an additional matte layer to the piece.