New Painting: “On a Wing and a Prayer”

As an English as a Second Language teacher, I’m often familiarizing students with the meaning of idioms/ expressions.  I’m going to go one step further today and share what I learned about the history of the name that came to me so clearly for this painting. Actually, I’ll take it two steps further because I’ll add my own spiritual twist to it.

“On a Wing and a Prayer”  – 12″ x 24″ – acrylics on gallery-wrapped canvas (no framing required) – SOLD

“On a Wing and a Prayer” – the idiom

• Expression meaning that you’re hoping to succeed at something, although you’re not prepared enough or have very little chance of success.
• first cited in the 1942 film The Flying Tiger when John Wayne’s character describes a plane that was just attacked by the Japanese as coming in with only one wing and a prayer.
• was made even more popular in 1943 through Harold Adamson and Jimmie McHugh’s WWII patriotic song Coming in on a Wing and a Prayer

My twist:

When I “received” the name for this painting, I had to look on Google to double-check the meaning.  The reference to war notwithstanding, I was surprised at the less than optimistic definition.  I didn’t want one of my paintings to be associated with “only the slightest chance of success”.  So I meditated on it (ie. stared at the painting while rebounding on my new mini-trampoline – a perfect addition to the studio).  It didn’t take long for its message to dawn on me.  When undertaking a new project or looking at the future (as the woman in profile is doing here), we always have a choice to focus on the best possible or worst possible scenarios.  It’s so easy to get caught up in all the details that we miss the beautiful tapestries we are weaving with our lives.  One can choose, however, to trust the vision of our Higher Self, who, like the bird, sees the path before us as well as the bigger picture.  It answers our prayers for guidance, prayers that help us focus not on the impossibilities, but on the infinite possibilities of life.  There!  That’s better, isn’t it?!  I could go on, but I’ll let you add to that positive spin on your own.

Interesting fact about the hidden layers:  As I’ve explained before, my paintings often consist of multiple layers (of paint as well as meaning). These layers are added on intuitively with a spirit of play and exploration until an idea forms.  Well, this is one of those paintings that has a very rich history indeed.  Beneath the layer of crimsons and gold that forms the base to this finished painting was another layer with another 8 hours of zentangle patterns.  It is all but invisible now.  Was that wasted time?  No. It’s simply part of the meditative process that went into creating this piece.  When I ended up covering it up, I didn’t dwell on what I had “lost”, but focused on the new possibilities.  Nothing could take away from the joy those 8 hours of pattern-making gave me.  It’s all part of the process and infuses the piece with that much more love and energy.