Poetry Painting: “Lady Palabra”

Underneath it all, there’s a poem.

“Lady Palabra” is an abstract, original acrylic painting on an 8×10 canvas. Prints are available for sale in the Typewriter Poetry shop.

Painting Process

Originally, I created a handmade stencil of an old typewriter poem (one of my favorites, “Couple #8”). I stenciled the typewritten words onto my canvas and began to paint.

Each letter was a different color of the universe.

...Still, something was off. Mania ensued. I painted each letter over and over again. Nothing fit.

Last night, I couldn’t sleep. I grabbed my supplies and continued painting in bed. Not the brightest idea because now I have paint on my sheets, but–

Once satisfied, I cuddled my pillow and watched colors dance before closed eyes, falling into dreams. I woke after only three hours of sleep. The sun was making its way over the mountains of the valley.

I knew from the start I wanted violet, not purple. I got back to work and mixed in blue hues.

The poem you can see came last. Words rambled around in my head last night / this morning while I was trying to think of a title. Something about a woman giving birth to a universe through sounds. Why do I write that so offhandedly? It’s actually an image that means a lot to me. I think of resonance, and star resin within her throat. Atoms dancing. Small indivisible particles listening, swayed by her tune.

I think I was inspired by Jim Wilson’s SoundCloud track, “God’s Chorus of Crickets.” It’s a field recording of crickets slowed down to produce a ghostly harmony of love and longing:

After approximately 20 hours of work, “Lady Palabra” has arrived. You can find it at the Typewriter Poetry shop.

LADY PALABRA
she sings;
     the
Molecular Swoon