Balance

Balance – acrylic painting by Heni Sandoval

Balance is a new painting. Last week while painting the dove in an abstract setting; I got the inspiration to continue mixing my abstract style with images. The International Day of Peace is always on September 21st which is on or a day away from the Fall Equinox. I wondered if the reason for this is that we need balance to be peaceful. I am trying to stay as balanced as I can during these crazy times.

To welcome the Fall equinox where night and day are equal, I thought it would be fun to paint a yin yang symbol using a crow and dove. This is my fourth painting of a crow and dove together, in fact the last one I painted, Sooner than Later was in early April, soon after the Covid-19 pandemic began. I wrote in that post; ” I view doves as a symbol of peace and crows as a symbol of magic and transformation.”

It was challenging to get the birds to look right around a circle. I like the whimsical way it turned out and am going to do a series of animal paintings in this style. My hope is that as this season moves forward, we all can maintain some sense of balance and vision of peace for our future.

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There Goes My Shadow take 2

There Goes My Shadow 2 – acrylic painting by Heni Sandoval

There Goes My Shadow is a painting I blogged about a year and a half ago that I  recently reworked.   Last month as I began the recent painting Moonlit Dove and Sunlit Crow,  I took a look at this older painting because of the similar theme of dealing with the shadow.   I realized then that the painting looked weak.

I have added more color and contrast to to help pop out the fall colors and I also reworked the girl’s face.   My painting teacher used to have us do an exercise of painting in a darkened room since it would naturally force us to use more contrast with the lights and darks.  It was a helpful lesson and it came to mind as I looked back that this painting.  I think it works better now.

Moonlit Dove with Sunlit Crow

Moonlit Dove with Sunlit Crow – acrylic painting by Heni Sandoval

I’ve been thinking about the light and dark and how here in the United States each passing day brings more and more concerning news. We are living through an unique time period that has a surreal feeling to it.  There are many polarizing issues with such a big gulf between them; from gun control, global warming, immigration, to race relations and gender issues.  What seems clear to me, is not to others who have their own different beliefs.   I’m sure they feel the same as I do.  Arguing about the issues has not been productive.

There are no easy answers.  I again started thinking about Carl Jung’s term the shadow and how what we don’t see in ourselves gets projected onto others.  I think on a collective level we are all dealing with unhealed wounds from our past and collectively we need to blend the light and dark within ourselves.

Moonlit Dove with Sunlit Crow is a new painting of a white dove flying toward the moon and the black crow flying toward the sun is the result of my pondering.  Getting back to painting is helping me refocus my energy away from absorbing too much negative news to being more centered and peaceful.  This is helping me integrate my own anger issues that will hopefully reach out into the collective and help in some way.

A Murder of Crows

A Murder of Crows – acrylic painting by Heni Sandoval

A few months ago I learned that a flock of crows is called a murder.  That captured my attention and I decided that at some point I would paint a murder of crows.  I love crows and have painted many through the years.   Whenever I’m out and about and spot a crow I get the feeling that they have spotted me also and are closely watching. Maybe for that reason they seem intelligent, social, and somewhat mysterious to me.    After last week’s tighter still life painting I felt like doing something looser, a perfect time for this painting.

In A Murder of Crows I wanted to show a lot of movement and layers of colors through the sky and tree branches as if the crows were flying in in out of different dimensions.   I tend to wonder if they can see colors and dimensions that we are not aware of yet.  Scientist say dragonflies and cats can perceive more than humans and they are now learning that trees communicate to each other through their roots.  It’s all very intriguing to think about the miracle and wonder of our natural world.

Mom and Baby Beluga Whale

Mom and Baby Beluga Whales – acrylic painting by Heni Sandoval

Mom and Baby Beluga Whale is a new painting for my Heni’s Happy Paintings Etsy Shop.   I wanted to do a new sea life painting with a mom and baby.   It’s been fun to paint the two whales and figure out how to bring in the light through the water.

I was the girl scout leader for my girl’s troop through her fifth grade, our big end of the year event was a sleep over at the Atlanta Aquarium  which had recently opened. The girls were thrilled.  We got the “behind the scenes” tour and to do lots of fun activities through the night.  My favorite spot was by the window with a view into the large Beluga Whale tank.  There were two whales that would swim by and look at us.  They are graceful and seemed very gentle and curious about our kids.    Later in the night we set up our sleeping bags in the river otter section which was something, they came alive at night calling each other and diving in and out of the water.  It was great fun to watch, though we didn’t get any sleep.

In this painting the Beluga Whales are free and not in captivity.  Recently the  Georgia Aquarium has decided to no longer will take whales or dolphins caught in the wild, they need to be with larger family groups and able to swim free.  Times are changing as we become more aware.

Crow in the Moonlight

Crow in the Moonlight -acrylic painting by Heni Sandoval

Crow in the Moonlight is my new painting which I began early in the week and finished up on Friday.    I had felt like doing a moodier dark painting after the recent light and airy sunlit mermaids I’d done.  The last few days have been very sad and disturbing here in the States and I’ve been glad to have the distraction of painting.  It seems to me that the powers that be like to keep us divided.  We’re on in this together, my heart goes out to all who are  suffering.

I’ve  painted many a crow and thought it would be fun to do a moonlit scene to add to my collection.  I enjoyed every moment of painting this, it’s great to be back painting again.

There Goes My Shadow

There Goes My Shadow – acrylic painting by Heni Sandoval

Lately with the US Presidential election season heating up,  I’ve been thinking about the collective shadow. Psychologist Carl Jung termed the shadow as the unowned negative parts of ourselves that we tend to project on others.  Here are a few quotes on the shadow:

Knowing your own darkness is the best method for dealing with darkness in other people.  – Carl Jung

Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves. – Carl Jung

Both light and shadow are the dance of love.- Rumi

These past few weeks I’ve been trying to look at my own shadow.  It has been painful but I’m feeling stronger now, more centered.  I wanted to do a painting about the shadow and the light that comes from releasing our fears.  There Goes My Shadow is the result.

Crow Visits a Girl in the Garden

Crow Visits a Girl in the Garden – acrylic painting by Heni Sandoval

Crow Visits a Girl in the Garden is my most recent painting.  After painting the Girl and Wolf, where the girl’s face was so small, I  felt the urge to paint a larger portrait. The crows are back in our neck of the woods so they’ve been on my mind.  I thought it would be interesting to place a crow with the girl in a garden scene.  I’m fairly pleased, it was a fun challenge.

It is quite chilly this morning and the leaves are just starting to turn, feels like fall now.  The sky is bright and it will be warming up shortly,  It’s great to have such a beautiful weekend after the past few dreary, rainy ones.  I plan to go visit a local art festival this afternoon.   Hope everyone enjoys their weekend!

Purchase print here:  Crow Visits a Girl in the Garden

The Dove and the Crow

The Dove and the Crow – acrylic painting by Heni Sandoval

Spring is here!  The cherry tree blossoms are out along with the early flowering shrubs and  bulbs.  It’s lovely and the weather is forecast to be mild this weekend.  I plan to get some gardening in.  Here is my most recent painting, The Dove and the Crow.   I got the idea to paint these two very different birds together because I’ve been thinking about how our world needs more balance.   The white dove symbolizes peace while the black crow symbolizes wisdom and magic.   I’ve painted them looking back at one another as if they could make a connection.

There are many conflicts now between the West and East, rich and poor, progressives and conservatives, religious and secular…  After a while you wonder why there is so much extreme polarity and why people don’t work together in a balanced way.   The Spring equinox brings with it balance with the day and night being equal.  Wouldn’t it be great if we could work together through these differences to solve the challenging issues before us.  Happy Spring to All!

Crow at Dusk

Crow at Dusk – acrylic painting by Heni Sandoval

I wrote my first blog post a year ago today.  I was nervous about starting a blog because I’m a pretty private person.  I consoled myself thinking not many would read my writing anyway, we are all so busy, so I went ahead and decided to try it.   I posted a crow painting and wrote a very personal piece in memory of my dad who was born on this date.  What I’ve discovered surprisingly is that it has been fun to write and express the thoughts and stories behind my paintings.  It’s been like jumping in to cold water, it starts warming up after a while.  I’ve enjoyed connecting with other bloggers and following blogs that catch my interest.  I feel a sense of community with people all over the world.  I’m glad I took the plunge.

Speaking of my dad, I think he has been a big influence on why I enjoy writing.   He grew up during the depression in Virginia before television.  Time was slower then and his family would hang out playing music and listening to stories.  He got the story telling gift;  he was perfectly at ease being the center of attention and could tell a story that would keep anyone interested.  My sisters and I heard fun stories about my dad’s childhood:  like hunting for squirrels, or how he pretended to hate whipped cream because he got special attention for that,  the way he swept mom off her feet when they first met, their fun first years together and on and on.  My oldest sister was an english major in college and is a natural writer, she writes an excellent monthly astrology column, Heavenly Messages, which she posts on her website here.  My twin sister is a gifted poet and is planning on publishing a daily Christian devotional soon.   I think dad would be happy about his influence on us and I wonder what he would have thought about blogging.  Happy birthday Dad, thanks!