Grow With Me is a painting that I started in late 2019 and completed in 2020 right in the height of the pandemic. It’s a painting that came to me in a vision like many of my other pieces have. I felt personal, like it was a vision of me in the future with a healthy, loving partner that I could grow with. Like so many others, I’ve struggled with romantic relationships and finding someone that I felt equally yoked with. Over the years, I’ve healed a lot of old wounds. I’ve evolved and learned that I didn’t need to look for someone, that my someone would organically find me. I am a believer in love. I believe it heals all things starting with self.
I am also a self proclaimed tree hugger and my love for them has grown even more in the last few years. During Covid, I started to focus more on my overall health. Walking was one of the ways I did this. I would get up daily and walk for about an hour to clear my mind, get my blood flowing and get some fresh air. I followed a path near my home that allowed me to pass by many trees. I would literally touch each tree and say good morning. This period was such a challenging, beautiful and healing time for me. It really helped me to reconnect with myself and re-evaluate what was most important. During quarantine, I realized a repeated lesson and knew it was time for me to break a pattern within myself that I had been stuck in for more than half of my life.
I felt myself healing while I worked on this painting. It was like I was coming back to me and embracing myself whole, instead of in parts, like I had before. I felt myself manifesting something more than I could even comprehend. In late summer of 2020, I reconnected by chance with an old friend. He was somebody I always got along well with and we always had great conversations. We picked up right where we left off and grew closer each day. We both realized that our friendship was becoming more and made the mutual decision to give ourselves the opportunity to grow together. We have now been together for nearly two years and if I’m being honest, I believe the creation of “Grow With Me” manifested our relationship and ultimately the love of my life. I’ve never really liked the term “falling in love” It sounds painful and undesirable. Growing in love sounds far more realistic and desirable. And so the title of this painting was born. It is genuinely one of my most valued creations thus far. I hope this painting brings the same kind of love and abundance to others as it has brought to me. The original was collected in 2021 but high quality canvas and archival prints are available.
"Grow With Me" is a painting that represents union and love. When you embrace each other whole, you will stand rooted and strong in your love. The red lotus is a flower that blooms from mud, "no mud, no lotus" It is a reminder that though we will face challenges in our love, we can only continue to bloom and grow together. The open bloom at the foot of the tree continues to remind us that the heart is pure, passionate and fragile and that we should handle our hearts and the ones that we love with care and compassion. Although it is a printed version of the original, the piece has been hand embellished and signed by me. My hope is also that this piece will be a reminder of the strength that your love holds and you will continue to grow in that love, together. Visit the shop today to purchase your hand embellished print!