Grief in Disguise

 
Grief in Disguise
20" x 20"
Acrylic and Copper Leaf on Canvas
Cake: The Mental Health Series
Completed February, 2022 
 
Part of the Cake series, this piece is Grief in Disguise. Layered like cake, this series is rich in texture and hides what lies beneath. What you see from the outside is but the buttercream, much more lies underneath, much more to plumb. This piece plays with saffron, crimson, shocking pink, ruby red, rose gold and is extremely tactile.
 
Most western psychology classifies anger as a second emotion. In plumbing my own depths, I realize that my anger is most often heavily coated grief.  Sometimes it is fear, but mostly sadness, loss, despair. It bubbles up so fast because it is a protective sheath.
 
Anger can be such beautiful fuel.  Unlike sadness which feels like paralysis, like forever, like eternity, anger is fast. It coats the darkness of grief, warming a dark place with its mercurial heat. But the darkness persists. Sooner or later, it must be addressed. It must be seen. This piece is a meditation on uncovering the grief.