A Purpose of Many Colors

This table, this table of many colors use to have nothing. Absolutely nothing on it. Just a boring wood-grained top with too much varnished white body and legs. It had been used only as a storage shelf really in a store doomed by construction and the evil forces of progression. It was being sold off as if it had no more use to anyone anymore. I just had happened to see this lowly table sitting off to the edge while I was scoping out shelves for our art museum to buy. It wasn't near the other items being promoted on social media for sale, it just was kind of sitting there against the wall.

I really didn't need anything but the table kept on "catching" my eye for some reason. The empty dresser drawers did the same as well. I soon talked to the manager and next thing I knew I had bought the table and 3 drawers for some new use in my home. As I loaded it into my car, the manager just smiled and said, "Let me know what you are doing with it and send me pictures." "Okay, I replied". Little did I know that this table like all my other furniture creations would become my obsession. I didn't know where it would go initially in the house, but then it was obvious the living room wall that had a blank, naked type space to it. That's where it would go.

I just stared at it for a few weeks, did nothing to it. It just was not happening for me creatively in regards to what needed to be done with it. It wasn't until I had arranged some artwork over it that it dawned on me to recreate some of the magic of colors and patterns in that work to the table and even the dresser drawers. The gouache watercolor painting was from a famous, local artist Edna Hogan. This amazing artist painted until she was 99! The simplicity of her shapes for flowers, the intense, bold lines for stems as well as for definition of the background in beautiful. The imagery reminded me of African textile patterns or carved wooden features.

I then started to paint the shapes and try to recreate the patterning by using lines on the legs on three of the edges. At one point the warm colors on the black background where just not "finished" to me. It needed something. Suddenly, I noticed the subtle white vase in the middle of the painting as if she was saying, "Use white". So I did! It's a work in progress, no way done with it, but it is one of many things in my home that have been artistically refurbished to create my artist's haven called home. Because of this I have been asked to do fun, colorful designs on wood furniture, garden planters and such for quite awhile. It never goes away the requests nor the fun imagery I get to use on these objects. The thought that I get to "play", "create", "embellish" and just bring it back to life makes me so incredibly happy. When I create these things, my devoted dog, Ranger, (1/2 of Creativity Ink) is by my side, he's my artistic supervisor.