Coming Full Circle: A Painting, A Dream, Reality

What first comes to your mind when you imagine a perfect little English village?  Flower gardens and golden stone buildings? Churches, castles and bridges?  Market squares and stunning countryside?  

Years ago, in 2004, early in my painting journey, I stumbled across an image of a beautiful, Medieval,  English village that immediately grabbed my attention and pulled me into its historic charm.   

Its stunning honey-coloured houses built of Cotswold stone, the old stone bridge over the curving Bybrook river and the 13th century St. Andrew's church nestled against the backdrop of trees was an idyllic representation of one of my favourite parts of this stunning country. Nestled on the most southern edge of the Cotswolds, home to the most beautiful cottages and villages in all of England, Castle Combe captured my heart and ignited my creative spark.  

This pretty little town would become my next subject, my next acrylic landscape painting.  Having only returned to painting in 2020, this painting presented many a challenge; water and reflections, clouds, perspective and depth and colour mixing.  I took on the challenge with excitement, some frustration and much perseverance. In the end I was very pleased with the outcome I had achieved.  I signed it, framed it and proudly hung it in my home where I look at it every day.  I dreamed of standing in that little village surrounded by its beauty and hoped to one day visit.

Years later, when we took our little family to England on vacation in 2013, I was determined to find this charming village.  I could no longer remember the name but I didn't give up.  After numerous image searches, web pages and rabbit holes I finally found it.  I would soon be standing in the very painting I'd created years ago.

It was a surreal moment walking down the path along the river, looking at the bridge with the church's spire shooting up behind the buildings.  This summer, the water levels were low.    Some local fisherman were seated in chairs on the rivers bed, rods in hand waiting for a bite.   The sun was shinning and the stone homes stood proud and strong as they had for hundreds of years.  The flowers bloomed, the roads were quiet and I felt blessed to be there.

What started as a painting and became a dream would become reality. 

I had come full circle!  

I bounced up onto the  bridge and posed for a photo in the ever-so-familiar scene that captured my heart so many years ago.  

Is this my best painting?  Skillfully, honestly no.  Is this painting special and loved as it is?  Absolutely!  I could let my inner critic and perfectionism steal the joy this painting has given me by analyzing all the ways I'd improve it now, but I choose to look at this piece with love and pride.  

What I see, what I feel and what I remember from that day on the bridge is priceless and perfect just the way it is. 

It holds a piece of my H'Art and Soul.

An Artist's Creative Warmup: Neurographic Art

I'm not afraid to admit it, sometimes I need a little brain boost to kick my creative ideas into gear. 

Just as you might grab your morning coffee or hit the yoga mat at sunrise,  run your 5k before the kids wake up or write in your diary before you roll out of bed, warmups are my equivalent of an energizer  to wake up the senses, loosen up my hands and get my imagination engaged!

Some days the ideas flow easily, faster than I can catch them.  Other days, the dreaded white-canvas paralysis sets in and my imagination takes a temporary holiday.  

So what do I do when the ides aren't flowing?  Or when I haven't been in my studio for awhile?  Or when the blank page or canvas stares back at me taunting me to make a move?  I pull out one of my warmups and just get moving.  

Neurographic art is one of my absolute favourites.  Its quick, easy and completely organic.  

How to Use Neurographic Art as a Warmup

Step1:  Grab a sheet of paper, printer, watercolour, marker or any piece you have on hand.  I usually tape it down to a board to give it a nice even border but its not a necessary step.

Step 2:  With your marker ( I use a black fine tip sharpie or any other permanent marker I have on hand) and draw one continuous line, that curves and twirls, up, down or any direction that feels right for you while intersecting other areas of the line.

Step 3:  Begin rounding out the intersections of the lines making them as thin or thick as you like.

Stop drawing when it feels right.  Your drawing will look something like this:

Step 4:  When its complete, grab some markers, paints, pens, crayons or any medium on hand and begin filling in the cells.   You can use colour themes, a monochromatic theme , patterns or any combination that feels good.  Be free and let you imagination run wild. The idea here is to go with the flow, don't let  your thinking brain get in the way.  

Once you feel you've completed your piece or you've done enough to get your creative energy flowing remove the tape carefully, sign it and  take a good look at what you've just created.

What do you see popping out at you from within the shapes?  Maybe you'll spot a bird, a fish, a woman holding a child or  a goofy giraffe.  Maybe you won't see anything in particular other than the beautiful colours or patterns that are pleasing to your eye. Either way, the exercise accomplished its goal:  your senses are engaged, your hands and fingers are warm and your imagination is engaged!

Use the momentum you've created and see where your imagination leads you today.  

"Imagination is the beginning of creation" - George Bernard Shaw

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Copyright Patricia Bond, 2025