Confession time: I’m a bit of a neat freak.  I make the bed every day.  I always have a place for everything.  In college, I was the only one in the painting studio meticulously cleaning off her palette after each session ( which wouldn’t have been necessary had we been able to leave all of our stuff in the studio, but I digress ).  Being married has helped with my neatness obsession a bit, I admit to occasionally putting Mr. F’s stuff away but find myself able to cope with the imperfectness of living with someone not quite so obsessive.  Maybe because he treats my quirky neatnikness with humor and grace.

Is it strange that I admire folks who can live with, even relish in the messy?  I think it is what has drawn me to the work of West Palm Beach artist Alyssa di Edwardo.

 

As I’ve been back painting regularly now for over a year, I’ve found myself confronting my fear of the mess.  Even in my work, I relish those moments where the canvas or panel is as beautiful as I’d imagined it could be.. but then there creeps in a need to push a bit further.  Beyond the beauty of a controlled surface is a need for a type of exploration and experimentation that will only happen when I allow things to get a little messy.  When I let go of what seems good enough but not exciting and my need to control the outcome.  I’m working at finding a balance between the not denying the necessary calm and embracing the mess that needs to surface.

To see more of Alyssa di Edwardo’s work, please visit her website.

All images are via the artist’s website.