Painting in oil by Nancy Wait (1985) 32×46

This was

my painterly

impression

of “George”

in 1984.

Cover image, “Sacred Wound”
by Nancy Wait

This is the cover

of my new mini-ebook

Sacred Wound

published

on March 12, 2013.

Thirty-six years later, “George” gets a banner across his chest.

Let me tell you about George. He was a client. He was nice. He was nice because he hired me, paid me on delivery, and ordered lots more. Architectural renderings, that is. Then he framed them and hung them in his office. But one day he offered to give me a lift to the subway. And before I got out of the car he gave me a peck on the cheek. A peck! And yet I heard bells. It could have been straight out of that old movie, Tom, Dick and Harry with Ginger Rodgers when she heard bells and knew which one she should marry. (I forget which now.)

This, however, was far from my limited experience of “George.” Nevertheless, an unforgettable impression was made. Once those bells start ringing in your head, something must be done. Cut to the chase, after it was officially over, (though some would say it was only ever over in my head, or put another way, I was in over my head) I decided to paint the portrait he never got around to sitting for. I painted it from memory. From my imagination. From the intuitive feeling I had when I thought of him.

The result came as a complete surprise to me, as it did not resemble the image he presented outwardly to the world. And yet I had ‘picked it up.’ I had seen him on an inner level, hence the strong emotional feelings on my part. A flurry of renewed creativity ensued, partly because of this graphic representation of a ‘wounded man’ that sprang from my imagination when I was trying to get “George” out of my system. (Yes, some women might try to “Wash That Man Right Out of Their Hair” like in South Pacific, while others of us stretch a new canvas and squeeze out some paints.)

This is actually a rather long story, dealing with one’s muse, the anima and animus, the inner male, the wounded soul, and recognizing a wound in the “other” before being able to deal with it in oneself. I will get to that as it fascinates me like crazy.

Meanwhile, tune in next week on March 19th to Blog Talk Radio where I will be reading from my mini-ebook Sacred Wound (“George” isn’t mentioned; it’s enough he’s on the cover), and giving the book away free. I will also be performing a radio play I wrote called  “Mr. Woundid and Ms. Heeler at the Starbucks Cafe,” which tries to be funny! Hope you will join me.