"Open & Flow"
2024

12" x 16"
Soft Pastel on Sennelier pastel board

$3,000 + taxes and s/h

 

Buy the ORIGINAL PAINTING or a PRINT on the SHOP page!

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"Open & Flow" was selected for the 

12th Annual New Mexico Painter's Exhibition

NM Highlands University

September 7, 2025 - October 31, 2025

This painting initially was inspired by taking a look at my limiting beliefs around money. Like many people how I was raised influences how I think and talk about money. Additionally society tends to tell stories about men who are financially successful and about women who are not. So I wanted to break free from my childhood beliefs and show how being financially stable is a feminine trait.  

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Hence the color choices: gold for gold and green for the US Dollar. The open lock represents letting go of old patterns/thoughts/beliefs.

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And I wanted it to look fluid because so much of our money language is based on water: cash flow, liquidity, currency (current + sea), underwater, capital leak, etc. And money often behaves like water for example it goes up and down and exists in different forms (water = liquid, solid, gas / money = coins/paper/digital).

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However as I painted the painting took on a broader scope, after all money is linked to our emotions. Time magazine's July 25th, 2023 article "Why Stock Prices Mirror our Mood" states: "What we buy and sell every day has everything to do with how we feel and the stories we tell. Stock prices are a real-time barometer of investor sentiment.

 

And as Warren Buffet said, "Remember that the stock market is a manic depressive."

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So this painting ended up reflecting my feelings on how important I find it is to face my emotions, let go of the fear, and embrace the flow of life. 

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And for yet another take on the link between water,  money, and our bodies check out this song: Current$ea by Toni Jones:

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