A fellow Medium friend of mine once told me that the Angels showed her how they guide my hands when I paint. I completely trust her intuitive gifts, however, I'm a see-it-to-believe-it kind of person. It wasn't till I noticed something outside of myself moving my hands while working in the studio that I understood the message that she had delivered to me.
Work in progress Number 1 for White Light.
I started working on this abstract painting in December 2020 when I attended the Gathering of the Creatives virtually. My experience at this full weekend workshop was an absolutely spiritual artistic adventure for me. It felt like my soul had reached another level in both the creative and the spiritual parts of my life, and that these two parts had finally united. However, I was really confused about the approach to this painting. When I work on abstracts, there is raw emotion behind the process, but there was none of that here initially. So I continued to make marks and add layers, wondering where I was going with this.
Work in progress Number 2 for White Light.
Work in progress Number 3 for White Light.
Work in progress Number 4 for White Light.
Eventually, I did what many painters have to do at some point in their careers. I made some big brush strokes across the canvas to intentionally ruin the piece. I knew that I couldn’t make the painting worse, so I would only move up from there. I was still confused about the painting, but it helped me to express the movement that I felt onto the canvas. I added a message to myself and then worked to cover it up. Ultimately I was very happy with the colors I chose and the way the squares overlapped each other, I was happy with the movement and the feeling of joy, but there was still something missing. I did what I normally do when I'm not sure of where I'm going - I left it alone.
Work in progress Number 5 for White Light.
Work in progress Number 6 for White Light.
One morning in March while I was in meditation, I asked God, the Angels, and Spirit one of my usual questions: What would you have me do today? I immediately saw an image of how I was going to complete this painting. They showed me how I would make a big creamy scribble with pigment sticks. It wasn't my studio day, but I went into the studio for something else and that's when I saw this canvas again. I had a sudden urge to pick it up and do as I had been guided to do. I took my pigment stick out and I started to scribble the top line.
Work in progress Number 7 for White Light.
Work in progress Number 8 for White Light.
I began to smudge the pigment with my fingertips (it's a very creamy consistency) and it was at this point that I realized that I hadn’t even been looking at what I was doing. I had no control. My hands were being guided. Then I decided to make a second scribble below and again I began to smudge the pigment. This time my hands didn't need to be guided because I knew exactly what needed to be done. When I brought the canvas into the natural light, I realized that what I had created looked to me like God's White Light. It truly was a magical experience.
©2021, Francesca Bandino, White Light. Acrylic, oil, and wax on Gallery Wrapped Canvas, 24x18x1.5 inches.