Description Our minds seem to conjure so many exciting, and dreadful, ideas about ourselves and the world as soon as we develop consciousness. Every waking day of our existence, our minds are harmonizing and warring simultaneously, with reality. With this presence of everyday life. As we age and mature, some of those ideas and fantasies become casualties of our mind war. Perhaps those cloud casualties are a blessing in disguise. Perhaps the evaporating thoughts are meant to somewhat cease so we can be more at peace with ourselves before exit from this present world.
L'Andrae' Bradley, West St. Paul, MN Member Since December 2009 Artist Statement My art has always been about evolving from the unknown towards a concrete work of art by applying the awareness that derives from the action of painting itself. It’s a style that I’ve been using and rediscovering for over 20 years. Around 2012, I started meditating under the teachings of Shambhala lineage and decided to align my art with the flow of meditation and the flow of the creative process it fosters.
For a long time, I have used Prismacolor markers and micron pens with underlays of watercolor using bright colors and patterns intricately woven together to indicate the ups and downs of life. More recently, I have shifted to acrylic painting as my medium of choice, overcoming my long-held fear of painting. Thanks to meditation – and how it has changed my outlook on life – I have been able to see things as they are and appreciate myself more. I couldn't contain this self-discovery and decided to express and share it through my art. Skulls and meditating figures serve to imply a sense of impermanence. They are suggestive of how we all can transform ourselves into another level of awareness and self-appreciation.