It's a "Good Morning" every morning in my office "Good Morning" by Elaine Doy in centre "Pulse" by Elaine Doy on left

My friend, Elaine Doy (mentioned in Monday’s post), is a “painter extraordinaire” and her work thrills me. But I was not surprised to learn that she is often unhappy with her work while she’s working on it. She says she starts to paint and then takes a look at what she’s done and despairs of it ever being what she wants it to be. I’m personally pleased that she perseveres.

Focus and Interpretation

"Good Morning" by Elaine Doy

Elaine paints what she sees, but I can tell you that she sees as much with her heart and her soul as she does with her eyes. On a recent ride around Cape Commodore she spent much of her time drinking in the bluffs and bay vistas, and commenting on the beauty there.

So why am I Telling You About her?

"Pulse" by Elaine Doy

Elaine does not have ADHD. But she does have an uncanny ability to find beauty in everything she sees. I’ve written about my photography of textures. I can often take a photo of something that fascinates me only to have it turn out to be bland and unappealing. Elaine’s job, like photography, is the work of capturing the beauty that is before her. But she has an advantage, she can highlight and augment her art to showcase the beauty she sees. This is not an unfair advantage over photography, those of us who use cameras do so simply because we cannot render with our hands the beauty that is before us. Our advantage, our highlighting and augmenting is done by framing the subject, selecting the aperture & focus and, if needed, supporting existing lighting with one or more flashes.

Still no Connection To ADHD?

Elaine Doy in front of some of her work at a showing in Lion's Head, Ontario

When I look at Elaine’s work, I’m immediately reminded of the many times I’ve hyper-focused on some spectacle. And of the many times I’ve tried to photograph that spectacle and failed. I’m not reminded because Elaine fails at it, but because she succeeds. And I am thankful that she was the one who saw what she has painted and not I, for I would have left with only a photograph that ended up in an album on my shelf. Elaine leaves such sights with a mind full of beauty that she lets spill onto the canvass. And lucky me, I get to hang some of that beauty on my walls.

And then I get to hyperfocus on it to my hearts content. That is the ADHD connection, and it is to my benefit. Thank you, Elaine.

 

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