How Would You Paint a Sunny Day?

SunDay by Jonathan Steele

The sunny day painting of SunDay by Jonathan Steele. Acrylic on canvas, gallery wrapped with image on sides. Inspiration…looking for cheer on hearing bad news.

So, How Would You Paint a Sunny Day?

Sun Day is my Abstract Impressionism acrylic painting created in 2005.

Here is the YouTube audio visual version of the inspiration for this painting.

Inspiration for Painting

The canvas started out to be used to create something dark, perhaps even gloomy. It was just something I wanted to experiment with. As the canvas was being prepared, the call came from a family member informing my wife and me of the cancer diagnosis.

The poem below identifies the feelings stifled as a nurse that I now had to come face to face with. Rather than a dark painting, this needed to be something bright. It needed to have hope, it needed to be a sunny day, a landscape painting with a field of flowers.

It emerged as an impressionist field of flowers on a sunny day. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. It currently is being carried by Howard Galleries in New Hope, Pennsylvania.

Sun Day Poem

SunDay In The Life Of A Nurse
Copyright 2005 Jonathan Steele, RN

This painting started different from what you see
It was the day some disturbing news came to me
A dear one with breast cancer had been diagnosed
Pragmatic it was so difficult not to be at the most

How many patients in their treatments did I share?
Good outcomes, sad ones, nurses all have to bear
Mothers, sisters, lovers and brothers, though rare
Work assignments all, no matter how much I care

As their nurse, the only thing incumbent on me
Fill orders, ever present for the patients to be
Showing any personal feelings, is not allowed
O the risk of emotions, my patient focus to cloud

Stages of grieving, patient and family go through
Anger, denial and bargaining--to name just a few
Let's not forget the acceptance and depression
The only feeling allowed me, one of suppression

There's no time for them, there is so much to do
Med's to pass, treatments, patient teaching too
They were only my patients, my job to be done
Inside they're my mother, father, sister, my son

One thing it seems all who are successful must be
Positive in attitude, everywhere the good to see
Survival won't always come from such an attitude
Yet it's more than just an encouraging platitude

To live a life without hope, how would we go on
In a self fulfilling prophesy, we'd soon be gone
But wait, this isn't a patient, it’s someone near
Now it is my turn for anxiety, concern and fear

With my emotions racing, the decision left to me
What this painting should say, what should it be!
Compassion, encouragement, support and love
All reminders of what comes down from above

Then like dawn awakening, I knew what to say
Sunny days keep the blues of bad news at bay
That is how the painting “Sun-day” came to be
My feelings, patients now everywhere can see

Final Thoughts

The painting Sun Day has an unusual appeal to mostly women. I try to put a psychological component into all of my paintings. This one truly connects with the purpose I intended. You will find the original is even better than the picture you are looking at here.

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