The Amazing Gift
By: Jenny Burrow
All my life I have been a realist artist/painter. I always wondered, what is my style really without just replicating what I see? About 4 years ago, this all changed with a bang.
I produced a drawing that was inspired by a lesson I had taught my art students at school. The piece felt differently when it was being worked. When this piece was finished, I was compelled to start another drawing that took on a totally different character from what had been drawn in all of my previous work.
I began to get messages, flashes of words and phrases. I took notes of these messages and had pages of notes with words I had no clue from where they came. It was a little disconcerting. Then the drawing started in earnest. I drew every spare minute I had almost like it was consuming my every thought. Later on in the series I began to get flashes of images which I drew out, some I painted.
This amazing surge of inspiration has been flowing for over four years. I have completed two cycles of the theme series, the first set of 165 drawings, the second set of 17 large oil paintings. Both sets have been exhibited in a gallery setting. I am about to embark on the third wave in the series to be completed in one year and again a scheduled gallery showing.
I entered one of the recent paintings from this series in the National Art Education Association of which I am a member. Out of 386 entries, 62 were chosen to be exhibited in the NAEA Studio and Gallery in Alexandria, Virginia. My entry was accepted. Needless to say, I was humbled and excited beyond belief to be included in this national show with global exposure.
The show reception is October 16th. My friend and I are flying to Virginia for the reception. After a lifetime of being involved in the arts scene with lessons for myself and teaching as a career, I have been blessed and honored to be a part of this prestigious exhibit. Thank you for considering my “story”.
