Fences

I have been doing a lot of painting over the last few weeks. The more I paint, the more I want to paint. It's an addiction. At least it keeps my hands occupied and out of the M&M bag in the pantry.

A friend who was looking at my collection of unframed watercolors noticed that I paint a lot of fences. He was right. I had no idea this was a common theme developing in my artwork. I thought I had been painting mountains, trees, and lakes. He saw fences. Interesting.

Curiosity led me to Google to discover the symbolism for fences. One source said that in West African tradition, a fence is the "symbol of love, safety and security. The home to the Akan is a special place. A home which has a fence around it is considered to be an ideal residence. The fence symbolically separates and secures the family from the outside. Because of the security and the protection that a fence affords, the symbol is also associated with the security and safety one finds in love. -- from The Adinkra Dictionary"

In dream interpretation, a fence is seen as a boundary in a relationship, an obstacle, or choice.

So, here are some options to consider. Am I painting fences because I feel loved, safe, and secure? Do I seek to shield my family from the rest of the world out of fear they will not understand my autistic child? Or, is there a barrier in one of my relationships? Is there a decision I am avoiding? Because the fence in the picture above is broken, has there been a breach in my feeling of security or in my relationship with someone? Aha...I can see Freud rubbing his chin at that one.


How about this one:


The gate stands alone before a wilderness path. Am I the gate? Does the path represent the tangled confusion of autism. Or am I traveling along the path and the gate is the answer to all of my questions? OooooooWEEEE! It's getting deep in here!

How about this last one - the Appalachian Grist Mill:


Here the fence could be intended to contain something, rather to suppress/oppress/compress the freedom of some poor creature. Perhaps I feel trapped in my current situation, and my only means of escape is to throw myself over the fence, roll down the embankment and into the water. But then, what does the water signify? Hmmmmmm?

Here is a possibility - fences are easy to paint and offer an unusual and interesting focal point for a picture. I like this explanation the best. No psycho-babble. Just the reality that when it comes right down to it, I am a lazy painter who likes to take the easy way out and paint things I am familiar with. So there.