“What if sex was holy and war was obscene
And it wasn’t twisted, what a wonderful dream”
– Alicia Keys, Holy War
(painting: Love Trust, 2018, mixed media, 8" x 8")
In a time of warring ideas, sexism, racism, fascism, ism, ism, ism… in a time of historical mass exodus, the ever present threat of nuclear war, the temperamental wrath of climate change and extensions I, like so many, wonder what the heck is the antidote, the ballast? When I talk or write about my paintings, from my lightly used soapbox for introverts, I fervently espouse that it is essential to compel a person to love something before they’ll risk what it takes to defend it. If you are familiar with my work, you know I’ve devoted many, many years (wearing: the Lorax superhero costume under my clothes) focusing on endangered species as well as threatened environments and beings. In my life I’ve learned to love the challenge of building something luminous and beautiful on the foundation of something hard, uncomfortable or in need of attention and protection. I hope for the viewer of my work to fall in love with my paintings as seeds that grow awareness, compassion and maybe, just maybe, the strength to mobilize to make as many big and little contributions as we can to make the world better because we are here.
I find, when it is time for me to study a new subject (bees or owls or rhinos or elephants…) it works better if I don’t hunt them. Surprised right? If I sit quietly and listen they find me. This time, sitting in silence, contemplating antidotes and ballasts the word that kept circling me, even though I shushed it away a few times for being conceptually common in a hallmark-card-song-movie-book-genre, omg-this-has-been-done-a-bazillion-times-over! kind of way. Easy guess right? Love. You: one point. Now, guess what recently reached over my shoulder and nuzzled its nose to my head? The animal with the largest heart on land. Giraffes! Oh, and of course, they too just happen to be threatened and/or endangered.
Cliché? “Oh girlfriend,” my inside voice admonished, “be not judgmental, lofty or elitist, especially about love! Are you crazy? And I thought you said you like challenges.”
So the next series of work coming out of my lovely, light filled new studio is titled: LOVE. And as a nod to the titles of the new small works that are now showing at Giacobbe-Fritz in Santa Fe, NM I’m including a revised poem circling around from February. Did I mention I like circles?
Many of the original 8” x 8” and 12” x 12” paintings are still available for purchase at Giacobbe-Fritz Fine Art. After the originals sell I’ll make the prints available through my print site www.brittfredaart.com If you can’t swing the original but you’d like to “reserve” a Giraffe Love print email me. Love Tender(ly) is, now, available in print.
L O V E
Love art.
Love brilliance and breath and beauty and bees. Love to be. Love b.
Love compassion. Love curiously!
Love dignity. Love dreams.
Love equality. Love elephants.
Love freedom, Love fiercely. Love fear.
Love generosity and gratitude and groovy and big-hearted giraffes!
Love humanity. Love hope. Love healing.
Love intelligence and inclusion.
Love justice.
Love laughter, love letters, love listening. Love learning. Love love.
Love mamas. Love maturity.
Love nests. Love nourishing.
Love owls and optimism.
Love peas and papas and peace and patience and poems.
Love the questions themselves. - Rilke
Love resilience.
Love seeing. Love sex.
Love time. Love trust. Love tender (noun). Love tenderly.
Love utterly!
Love vehemently!
Love willfully! Love wisdom.
Love xeno (other).
Love you.
-with love from me, BF
