I started this painting at the end of August. I had just done a 12 x 12 inch rainbow Mandala, and it resonated with a lot of people. It actually got scooped up by one of my collectors right away! Since so many people really seemed to resonate with the Rainbow Mandala vibe, I decided to do one with the same idea - but on a much bigger 4 x 4 foot canvas!
I started it off with red in the middle. For this one, I used a thicker brush than I did on the smaller canvas. I wanted the lines to be bold and distinctly visible from a reasonable distance.
![IMG_2450[2].JPG](https://images.ecency.com/p/RGgukq5E6HBM2jscGd4Sszpv94XxHH2uqxMY9z21vaqHt19JPjyZj4sHLnja6CkoEDvuwBop59MmyYRQaR1BuBjpcVfiE9BHrxr88dvGGkEEfXtzvmeoXWLxgkE27iE?format=match&mode=fit)
The next color in the rainbow is orange, so that was the next layer. The first few layers went down relatively quickly. You can even see some of the orange paint is still wet in the picture!
![IMG_2453[1].JPG](https://images.ecency.com/p/RGgukq5E6HBM2jscGd4Sszpv94XxHH2uqxMY9z21vaqHt1g4DmTLgcnrobMeexpne9cXPa4xkpaHABTHkGfk9YSb6TZanWd39dUk4keFrALyQdaB4DNZGqXEyBeYfTc?format=match&mode=fit)
Next were yellow and green. As the rainbow started to grow, it was around this point that I realized I'd misjudged how thick each layer of color needed to be. I had intended the rainbow to be 7 color layers, red, orange, yellow, green,blue, indigo and violet, covering the whole canvas. But I made them too thin, and I honestly got pretty upset with myself for misjudging it.
![IMG_2459[1].JPG](https://images.ecency.com/p/RGgukq5E6HBM2jscGd4Sszpv94XxHH2uqxMY9z21vaqHt351A9pSfRav14Adu8iZuV4uGj2NCSGgjVbgsdHPtSHqt9KWexe6WS4Cy5Phd5ifm9QnLGDp5xnbem93FyG?format=match&mode=fit)
I actually stopped working on this painting for a few weeks. I rarely ever feel that way about the art I create, but, I was still feeling pretty sick at that point after 3 years of living with IBS-D. During the time I was sick, it was hard to stay focused and think positively.
Read read my blog post about my illness & recovery here - https://www.nexusvisions.com/single-post/2018/12/31/My-Most-Awesome-2018-Highlight
Eventually I got back to work on it, and strangely enough, that's about when I first heard that the keto diet might just put my illness into remission! So - I started the diet, and continued to finish the green layer.
![IMG_2467[1].JPG](https://images.ecency.com/p/RGgukq5E6HBM2jscGd4Sszpv94XxHH2uqxMY9z21vaqHt2Pew9gzLzMC2Lx9XazSsjWTuqKz7cXKoYJ7eaRBM4sn2TZxgpocEXG9yfocw5DjA2yDcThByiRyekm14EA?format=match&mode=fit)
I didn't feel better right away, but I did start to feel something I hadn't felt in a long time - hope. And that felt amazing. I had just about completely ran out of hope that I;d ever feel better by then. I sort of put aside the focus of sharing my art (and taking progress shots) as much to focus on my health, and learn about how to shop and cook for myself on a very different diet than I was used to. Almost everything in my fridge and pantry had to go... But after a week or so of the new diet, I DID start to feel better. And better and better - until I felt better than I had in over 3 years!
So I finally got it all done, but I was also trying to get to all the other things I'd been putting off and neglecting while I was sick, so I never got around to sharing it.
So now here it is all done!
I named it "Big Rainbow Passion" because it's a big rainbow,and it represents the big passion I have for creating, sharing, and hopefully inspiring and motivating people with my art.
"Big Rainbow Passion" - 48 x 48 inches, acrylic paint on gallery wrap stretched canvas
Available @ https://www.nexusvisions.com/product-page/big-rainbow-passion-48-x-48-inch-acrylic-painting
