ToCreate.Art.blog

Meet the newest addition to my artwork inventory, The Forgotten Key.

About The Forgotten Key

The Forgotten Key is an original design by myself. It is an abstract painting, 12″ x 12″, acrylic on canvas. I have a finished date of 3/16/2018, but I started this painting well over a year ago.

This abstract still-life painting features an empty gray vase with a single key to the left and almost behind the vase. The key lays partially in the shadow of the vase. Both key and vase sit atop a rustic grey table, with a softly-lit gray background that looks to be a creased metal surface.

There are faint blue tones in the background and table, and faint red/purple tones on the vase and key.

A History

The original painting, sans the vase and key, had been hanging in my studio since I moved into it. I painted the first part of this – just the table and background – some time late 2016, maybe early 2017.

I’ve looked at this painting, with just the table and background, a thousand times, at least. I have loved it.

In my mind, I considered it complete on multiple occassions. The emptiness of the table held promise. To myself, I called it The Vase. The idea was to imagine your own vase upon the table. However, now that it has been added to, this painting holds another promise.

And I love it even more.

Read on…

My Thoughts During Painting

Painting The Forgotten Key – as I started painting in the vase that morning, I thought about the women and men and children – people I know personally, as well as throughout humankind – who suffer, or have suffered, abuse in their relationships.

Actually, there was one person on my mind that morning. Someone I “know” – I have only met that person a small handful of times, but I have lived in the same fear that that person is now living in. I want to reach out and …

help.

But I don’t know how.

I don’t know if I will be rejected or if anything I could do would cause worse things. “None of my business” or .. I don’t know. I am not even living in the same geographical location – not even close. And that person has been an adult for a long long time, and also has religious limitations, which is the biggest hurdle to start, I think.

There is no defined reason for those particular thoughts that morning. I am far away, I am sure we both are on each other’s last thought list, in the grand scheme of things.

But, I am a professional Thinker. I think thoughts irrelevent to the day, time, situation, conversation, happenstance, or what-have-you. At any given time. That’s what I do.

And I am a Helper. Even if I can’t help, I feel the calling TO help. People, animals, little old ladies who can’t reach the top shelf. Is there something I can DO for you.

Most people wonder why they don’t just have the sense to walk out the door, the abused. There is more to it than that, as most of us who have been there know.

No place to go even if they could leave. Or their abuser would find them and commit even worse acts of abuse upon them or their family. There are many, many more reasons people stay in abusive relationships besides “just” fear and retaliation.

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As we move on to the making of this painting, I would like you to know more about what it now means to me.

The Promise

I have left the vase empty, to keep the intrigue for me as well as for you. What does the empty vase mean? Is it truly empty? I wonder, did it have an original lid? You can see the vase is not a perfect shape. Is that the fault of the artist?

Now, the key… It really just showed up on its own. I didn’t even know it was there. That happens sometimes. When I’m painting or writing, even crafting. That’s the fun of all this artsy-craftsy stuff.

To me, this key represents freedom. This key represents the ability to unlock restraints. A lock, yes, but think deeper.

The ability to set free a power from within – physical, emotional, fear, self-worth, courage, strength, the ability to say NO… and mean it, once and for all.

This key represents having a place to go for those who may not.

Or, for you, this key could mean something different.

The key to someone’s heart, or your key to a little cottage in the woods or on the beach.

A key that is not used enough, maybe, because of the demands of work or other important responsibilities, or the lack of funds.

This key really holds a lot of promise.

Your Story

This key is no longer my key. This is your key now. It tells your story.

I have expressed enough of my thoughts.

What do you see in this painting? Please let me know by leaving a comment.

Thank you for reading.