Original artwork description:

I recently found a book that has had quite an impact on my understanding of anxiety: “Stop Saying I’m Fine (Finding Stillness When Anxiety Screams),” by Taylor Joy Murray. Taylor has a master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling, and in the first words she speaks to her readers, you hear her courage and honesty: “Every chapter of this book comes from a deep place, birthed from my own pain, desperation, and spiritual wrestling. It’s the slow outworking of my own journey with anxiety. . . It’s felt daunting and risky to try to put words to this journey, requiring me to travel inside myself in an attempt to make sense of my story. But as we walk this road together, I pray I’ve opened up a pathway for you to do the same. I pray that, as you settle into this process and begin to peer inward, you’ll discover that the healing you long for isn’t as distant as it may seem.” This is not a clinical, detached account. This deeply personal, heart-rending story brought me to tears and has given me a window into what anxiety actually feels like and the deep impact it has had on every aspect of my loved one’s life. There’s so much that the sufferer cannot bring themselves to share, to speak of—even to a compassionate listener. Anxiety creates a wall between the person who’s suffering and everyone else. Until I read this book, I was very much in the dark, unaware of the true depth of my loved one’s pain and of their isolation. But Taylor’s story is not just a gripping, beautifully written account of pain; it’s also a story of healing. The hope that I found in this book has inspired me to create this painting, to share that hope with others. Excerpts from Taylor’s book are collaged onto the painting, which is composed of (3) 11” x 14” canvases, which are permanently joined to form a single 14” x 33” work. I purposefully used cold wax in the painting so that I could scratch lines of pain into the surface. For everyone who is suffering the silent epidemic of anxiety, and for their loved ones, please read this book and turn to Taylor's podcast, “Faith and Feeling” on Substack, Spotify and YouTube. This painting has been given a satin varnish for protection, and hanging hardware is already installed.

Materials used:

Book excerpts, acrylic paint, oil paint, cold wax on canvas

Tags:

#women art #abstract collage #earth tone #mindscape #mental health #special gift #horizontal abstract #neutral abstract #14 inches #triptych abstract #anxiety abstract #33 inches #art interior #counselor decor #mental landscape