Dreams can be powerful motivators.

Aside from daily tasks, jobs, school, and duties, dreams create motivation to reach for more. Something for yourself. Something that feels real, alive, and is worth feeding with time and energy.

I have dreamed of being an artist since I was a small child on our farm in Colorado. While I’ve painted and sketched my whole life, I’ve not had the chance to devote myself completely to that dream. But because it has ALWAYS been with me, I’ve pursued the dream in my off-times: when the kids were napping, or when they were at school; on weekends, in the evenings. I’ve kept that dream alive. It’s given me a direction and a purpose in life that is just for me, and outside of all other responsibilities. I’m motivated to succeed as an artist, and therefore driven to achieve that ideal. Because of that motivation and dream, I have become a more focused artist, with a network artistic connections, and a more efficient business plan.

Have you had a dream? I persistent thought that won’t leave you alone? Something that keeps you going through the muck and the mire that life throws at you? Has it been a motivator for you?

This painting, entitled “Dreams”, is a metaphorical imaginary landscape, illustrating our far-reaching hopes and desires, and the power those dreams have in our lives.

Dreams, 30×22, watercolor and mixed media on Plexiglas

In Dreams, a large, expansive sky opens to aspirations above a lower area suggesting land, water, and trees; a grounding base to the dream. In the gessoed surface, there are circles and gestured scribbles, describing strength.  As dreams are sometimes convoluted and have many paths, textured squares and wrinkled tissue add routes to explore, and areas for contemplation. Dramatic darks intertwine with deliberate tree shapes, signifying action and power. The color palette is subdued, lending itself to introspection: building strength for the goal.

I love the ethereal, yet powerful gestures of Dreams. It needs to be experienced in person to catch the nuance of texture and pattern in the surface.

To see this painting, stop by Hood Avenue Art during their November show, where I am featured artist. Most of my work is in the entryway of this beautiful gallery in downtown Sisters, Oregon.

Follow me on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram and follow this blog to be informed of amazing new paintings and events! Contact me to receive my newsletter so that we can meet at showings and to receive notifications about SB Hansen Watercolor & Wine Painting Classes. I am planning an upcoming workshop on Textured Watercolors in January. Let me know if you would be interested in the 2-day class. Every one of my paintings is available as a print, and I sell signed greeting cards of all my images.