This last year has been a bit complicated both in my personal life and in the world, to be sure. By its very nature, our lives have a tendency to protect us by prioritizing our choices. The choices being made on my behalf certainly impacted my painting production, among other things. I might even say last year was my least productive year all around.
But it is now 2026, and I realize that we can’t always see the bigger picture but only the mess immediately in front of us. This time of pausing my plans, learning workarounds for activities, and the overarching lesson of patience was actually pretty important for me. The challenges are not gone but my response is shifting. I am finding that there is a calmness now that is rising out of my core and instead of wasting time and energy pouting, I have been evolving.
This is going to be an awesome year. I say that not with false bravado but with a certainty that has become louder inside. I cannot forecast the how, the why, or the when. No one can. However, there’s no denying the build-up of positive pressure that anticipates all that is about to unfold.
I’m quietly discarding old grudges; forgiving myself for mistakes I’ve made or achievements that I didn’t pursue (basically ditching the “what-if thinking”); and coming to a calmer acceptance of who and what I am now. I am beginning to embrace my uniqueness with some grace and peace.
In a few short weeks I will be in Oshkosh, Wisconsin with some of my older, historical genre works repriced to move. My work is evolving as well. This summer I have a one woman show that I have begun to prepare for even now. It will reflect an entire new body of work, although those that know me well will see reference to a transitional element.
This is the first of February and they say there is a correlation between that date and the full moon in Leo as it relates to light. I have always had a special relationship with light in my paintings. My new works are going to step even deeper into that analysis and attempt to capture light in every aspect of our surroundings.
The painting that I’m sharing today is the first foray into that thinking with a playful juxtaposition between the lowly vegetable and the sublime light.
Have a smile on me.
Kelly E. James 