COACHING TIP

OHM AS MEDICINE!

I went to a private art sale in a beautiful home last week. It was the perfect setting to show how paintings enhanced space. One could easily imagine the home office as a corporate headquarters; the formal dining room an exclusive restaurant; the living room a parlor.

A couple of weeks before the show my friend, Jeffrey Keith, gave me a few invitations to hand deliver in the hopes of connecting him with more opportunities to convert his work into conversational pieces for sales. Jeffrey is a colorist who paints contemporary, bold, meaningful art with great skill. After 30 years of studying around the world, Jeffrey has arrived.

There were at least 80 people mingling throughout the house, so I took some time with them. I listened to Jeffrey’s patrons and gleaned a theme about his work from their commentary. The passion was unanimous; great art effectively uses color and light to trigger inspiration and promote happiness. Art stretches the mind and pushes vision. His art is engaging, sensory and expansive. It’s dialogue with questions. Fine art commands respect and Jeffrey’s art works.

When I arrived at the house around 4:30, the daylight was still streaming through the windows. As I strolled the main level viewing his pictures, I noticed some pieces appeared to be darting like exotic fish, others sang. But as day gave way to the evening light, each picture morphed into another portrait different from the first. The color pallets muted and moved with confidence; some colors retreating to allow the evening blend. Each whispered an offering…some served up thirst. It was the relationship between color and light that brought value and depth to the work. From boardroom green to saltwater blue, these paintings spoke to relationships, romance, sweetness and life.
                                                                                                          
Like Jeffrey’s, visual art as is a great healer. With some master painters it’s color, light, scale and tonality which emote strength and ohm. Some paintings are textured to softly invite meditation, others muse the intellect. Interpretation stirs the mind and drives weakness toward clear intention. Art contributes to discerning wisdom.

With all these ideas in mind, the next time you’re feeling down and reach for another remedy you think will take away your blues, get tough, add red and go to the nearest museum. Your sense will guide you to the room that feels happy and content. It might be Monet, Botticelli, or Pollack, but once you’ve found comfort, sit quietly. Contemplate the gifts you see and breathe slowly. Close your eyes and allow the room to stir your joy and open your heart to the Ohm of Art.