Ruby Chard, Nature Speaks, Set Yourself Free
Title: Ruby Chard Two, by Leslie Montana
Watercolor on hot press paper
Size: 22 x 30 inches
Key Notes: Transmutes Conditioning, Wild and Free, Untamed
Buy a print of this painting here.
Claiming Greater Alignment with the Truth of Nature
A vibrant patch of ruby chard called to me one summer day as I strolled through a large public garden in Colorado. I was drawn to it, and as I photographed these plants, their vibrant and joyful spirit spoke leaving an impression and making a deep connection with me.
They spoke of life as being natural, wild, and untamed which was not how I was experiencing it at the time. And though they don't exactly use words to communicate, the translation is something like: "Why align to the long-held and erroneous projections of others in favor of self and true self-expression? Live up to your own expectations. Break loose and shed that confining skin. Your light will otherwise remain dim. Leave the expectations, judgments, and negativity of others behind and you'll live FREE as an embodied expression of the true self. This is what the Creator intends for you."
This was a message I needed to receive at the time, yet it would be several years before I'd create this painting. It can take time to fully accept and integrate what we know is true on deeper levels, especially if it's a key life lesson. To make this work of art I had to be ready to embody its message. The fact that it even came to me meant that I was ready to receive it at a deeper level than before. If you're reading this, it means you are too.
As an artist and natural mystic, I perceive the world as beautiful. I perceive an endless depth of intelligence as color. It's super-alive, moving, and fluid. Ruby Chard Two begins to capture this in a way that's a departure from my earlier work. Using mostly translucent watercolors, with a tiny bit of gouache on hot press (smooth) watercolor paper the painting emerged. I love its psychedelic overtones. Note: No drugs were, or are ever involved in my journeys. From my perspective, they aren't necessary to experience the depth of nature.
Ruby Chard Two creates space for us to stretch out in and just be. Its keywords are wild and free. It invites us to burst out of long-held, stifling concepts and ideas that keep us small and well behaved, as in behavioral management. The intelligent and orderly cooperation that life forms take on when free to evolve naturally is stunningly perfect. The energy around this painting and its creation speaks to this and asks; What would happen if we drilled down deeply into our authentic selves and lived from there? Where would that land us? The correct answer is, no one knows. So, it's more about being present to the mystery of life as it's unfolding.
Plant-life is highly intelligent and completely honest about its existence. The flowers can't distort themselves. They can remain relatively wild even in cultivated gardens and they have a lot to teach us about maintaining this stance. For instance, regarding our ability to perceive the truth, Ruby Chard Two tells me the restrictions we experience visually are based upon what we think, not what we would see if we removed the filters.
In other words, our thinking mind gets in the way of what we see. It can obscure our sight, and therefore our understanding of what's in front of us. Ruby Chard Two invites us to dissolve the veil and see the beauty all around us. It is infinite and can comfort us during the current chaos of our times.
— Leslie Montana
Shop Ruby Chard Two Prints in my online store. Key Notes: Wild & Free, Transmutes Conditioning.
--------
Exquisite Paintings on the Nature of Flowers is a body of work based on a sophisticated visual analysis of nature's frequencies = LOVE. Ongoing, and now in phase two.