Good Morning Gluten-Free

"The Strutting Rainbow, Gluten-Free", watercolor & ink on paper, copyright Erin Rogers Pickering

In celebration of mornings I created my GF rooster!  

He is nothing but happy! 

He is my testament to wonderful awakenings.

I am no longer slammed by pain upon waking, dragging myself from the bed, calculating how long it would be until I could lay down again. 

That is no way to start any day, and certainly not every day!

So, here is my rooster… Strutting his stuff through the kitchen in the early morning light.

Happy to greet the day!

Happy to be alive!

That, is exactly how I feel!

Week #4 of 52 Week Painting Challenge

"The Strutting Rainbow", watercolor & ink, 8x10, copyright Erin Rogers Pickering

Over the weekend I got gluten through cross-contamination. It was no one's fault, but accidents happen if you don't live in a bubble. Unfortunately, it brings me to a very dark place.

It goes far beyond the physical discomfort to a dark, dark place where possibility, joy and playfulness no longer exist. Where extreme fatigue and discouragement rule the day. It is a colorless place... and I have to claw my way out. Luckily, the longer I am gluten-free the quicker the rebound becomes.

I created this painting today, as part of my process of return. Originally I planned to paint this rooster in muted, vintage colors. But, when I sat down and faced him... he begged to be painted in vivid and extreme color. Color that vibrates, pulses and lives. Color that can't be missed, or ignored. Color that overflows with possibility, joy and playfulness.

He is a strutting, squawking rainbow. And, he is proof that I am back.