I recently turned 40. I remember being in my teens and 20’s thinking people in their 40’s were old. (Ahhh, perspective...) But then when it was my turn to be 40, I didn’t feel old in my body or my mind; I was still just the same person navigating this “adult” thing. As my birthday was approaching, I wasn’t sweating it - there was almost a sense of pride I was anticipating to be able to say I was in my 40’s. Like I had enough collective life experiences under my belt to be taken more seriously or something. (Did anyone else feel like this??)
While I wasn’t panicking, it was still a milestone that I wanted to honor. So I took these thoughts to my art table and created “Midlife Catharsis” as a contrast to the unnerving “midlife crisis” I was expecting to feel. I wanted to visually portray a separation of halves.
The dark half is my past - in the shadows of my memories. The right half is the future - filled with hope, dreams and bathed in light. (And let me tell you, getting alcohol inks to cooperate in a linear fashion is not easy!) Where they meet is the space I now occupy in my life - not judged as good or bad, just present. Acknowledging my current occupation of this space in the middle was my catharsis.
Art prints of "Midlife Catharsis" in various sizes available here.