One day my daughter observed, as she was looking at my paintings hanging in the house, that nearly all of my artwork contained some kind of struggle in them. I was surprised. I had never noticed it before or thought of it that way. Over time as I reflected upon her comment I began to see the internal struggles within me that had subconsciously manifested themselves in my art.
My life of complete struggle began as a child with the struggles of my parents and ranged from being homeless, living in a tent by a river as a teenager, to years of medical problems, a near broken neck and multiple operations including brain surgery twice (even though I was a marathon runner and enjoy good health now). My struggles included being laid off from work at age 40 in the white collar lay off of the early nineties, and for the first time being utterly unable to provide for my family, something from which I had derived most of my self worth. It triggered a classic mid-life crisis that lasted for years.
But in the end, the struggles that ensued led to prosperity and fulfillment. As time passed, I have come to respect the struggles of life. It occurred to me that perhaps my art work can represent the struggles in other people's lives. It occurred to me that there is no living person that does not have his or her own struggles in life. Struggle is the exercise of character. Struggle is normal.
It is my goal to celebrate the struggle of life in my art. I hope that people can identify the struggle in my art with their own struggles. Maybe it will trigger some inner awareness and strength to "struggle on."
© Rick Ardmore 2007, All Rights Reserved
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