Elizabeth Gray-King

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The Unfolding is signed

It seems a good time to keep painting. Here is The Unfolding, with an average quality phone photo, but signed as done. Varnishing scheduled for February 2023, then framing, then available. I personally could sit with this for hours as I keep seeing more in it. The image itself unfolded on the folds of the fabric. As is so often the case with me, the canvas started as something else. Well, pieces of something else. I tied, stretched, stapled and wrapped four or five canvas pieces together back in the winter of 2015/2016 when I was on a half-time sabbatical from my United Reformed Church main work. For the sabbatical, I was looking at how communities were connecting with churches by use of the creative arts. The canvas strips coming together was about that connection. The piece started portrait layout and had hills and people. Frankly, it was not inspiring me, so when the sabbatical was finished, I painted it all out. It’s been calling me back ever since with a variety of colours, but no images. Ond day I turned it landscape just to see and here we are. I saw new things, new colours called from my palette and I began to think about creation itself, let alone the unfolding of ideas and feelings from anyone over anything. They emerge, not fully formed, enough to work with, enough to be going on with to learn and experience more. I guess it’s a painting about process, not completion. I like that.