Art: Bird of Paradise

‘To send light into the darkness of men’s hearts – such is the duty of the artist.’ Robert Schumann

I painted this a few years back during a period of illness that lasted two years. Unconsciously I may have painted this because it represented ‘hope’ and the possibility of regeneration, renewal or some sort of symbolic rebirth. The colours in the Bird of Paradise flower are vivid and inescapably joyful and I wonder if the phoenix, rising from the ashes of earthly suffering, bore colours like these?

In a more everyday way, such colours are fun to paint and my love of colour may stem from the two years I spent in Barcelona, Spain when I was eight years old.

Knowing the positive effects that art can have on the mind and for social inclusion I created www.creativity4wellbeing.com in the hope that this free resource would get out there and enrich people’s lives with purposeful activities. So far it’s appeared in the Sussex Life magazine and the New Zealand ‘Listener’ magazine so the potential for C4W to reach people all over the world is huge.

I love painting and exhibit a great deal. I’m currently looking for commissions for larger public or private spaces.

Copyright ? 2017 by Richard K Potter BA Hons PGCE MA www.creativity4wellbeing.com and www.richardkpotter.wixsite.com/richard