Breathing is such a simple thing. We do it automatically, without thinking. But when done consciously, it can be a fantastic tool for overcoming life’s difficulties—mindful breathing can help alleviate pain, calm anxiety, release stress and focus the mind. When I first started meditating I discovered these benefits, and have been using mindful breathing ever since. I consider successfully releasing painful back stiffness through breathing alone as one of my life’s biggest achievements (I used to suffer terrible stress-induced back pains and headaches).
This paintings were created at the time when I was learning to work with my breath, so they reflect some form of struggle, healing or self-discovery. More than anything they represent change—change in the way I think about myself, and the way I choose to live.
‘Unhealed’
80 x 120 cm
acrylic, oil stick and oil pastel on canvas
‘I might be broken, but that doesn’t make me weak’
80 x 120 cm
acrylic, oil stick and oil pastel on canvas
‘Breathe through the pain’
100 x 70 cm
acrylic, oil stick and oil pastel on canvas
‘I choose life’
80 x 60 cm
acrylic, oil stick and oil pastel on canvas
‘Just a flutter of a butterfly’s wings’
70 x 100 cm
acrylic, oil stick and charcoal on canvas
‘I knew you from the start’
80 x 120 cm
acrylic, oil stick and charcoal on canvas
‘I am not who I was before’
100 x 70 cm
acrylic and oil stick on canvas
‘When the waves come crashing down’
80 x 60 cm
acrylic, oil stick and charcoal on canvas