A Drishti Painting Focus: I Am Powerful
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I Am Powerful by Deb Chaney (4’ x 5’ x 1.5” mixed media on canvas)
The second large painting in my Drishti Paintings series I’d like to discuss in-depth is titled I Am Powerful. This original abstract artwork measures 5’ x 4’ x 1.5” and is part of this series of 7 paintings that each represent a chakra or energy centre.
It is currently on display at Amelia Douglas Gallery at Douglas College in New Westminster until January 2025.
Kim Klein and Friend standing with I Am Powerful (2024) at the exhibit’s opening event.
The colour of personal power
This painting represents the solar plexus chakra, or energy centre, which is the third primary chakra. This chakra is represented by the colour yellow, whose frequency embodies the principles of intellectual power, mental acuity, and awakening. It relates to our digestive system, adrenal glands, and left brain activity.
Yellow stimulates our mental faculties and brings us clarity and an enthusiasm for life. Spiritually it is synergistic with confidence, optimism, and joy.
It is a colour of miracles and magic.
Some affirmations for this energy centre include: “I can achieve anything I set my mind to”, I’m motivated, persistent, and successful”, and “I'm fearless in the pursuit of what sets my soul on fire”. Others are “I hold the key to my own happiness”, “My soul is radiant”, and “I have the confidence to take big leaps”.
And, of course, “I am powerful.”
The commonality with all of these affirmations and the energy of this area in your body is that it’s really about claiming your personal power. And this is something that (hopefully) we all go through in our lives–a point when we realize our own divinity within.
When you visit the gallery, you’ll notice that the painting’s title I Am Powerful is very large, unlike most artworks on display in other galleries, which typically have a tiny title card beside the bottom corner of the painting. What I’m communicating visually with these big titles below the final paintings on display is that the words are as important as the artwork.
Finding form in the formless
Generally when I make abstract art I focus on getting involved in colours and textures and feeling and integrating layers. It’s never with the aim of the painting actually looking like something. I’m an abstract painter and I’m creating abstract art that is formless.
However, when I look at this painting I see a globe and an earth, and I see light going through it and shooting up to the heavens and down below.
To me this feels like an incredible gesture and message from this painting because these paintings come through me. I didn’t plan this. I don’t have an image or sketch drawn up somewhere with an idea of what I’m going to do. That’s never part of my process.
I simply trust myself when I begin and I add one layer at a time. I have a set of principles (that I’ve been sharing in these posts), but the final image is always a surprise to me. So to end up with this illuminated globe, to me it signifies the power of the collective.
If all of us, as a collective on this planet, decided that we are powerful and that we are divine, and that we choose to focus on the positive in ourselves and others, and we saw our radiance and ourselves in each other, I truly believe that this would transform the planet. That is what I see in this painting.
I Am Powerful supports claiming your divinity, which is something we are all capable of. And it’s possible if you continue to focus on what is good and what is true within yourself; the divinity within you.
Applying the first layer of ‘I am Safe’
Shining through the black
In the image gallery above are some behind-the-scenes photos from the creation of this painting. You may notice in some of the pictures that I started with black. But in the back of my mind, I knew I was painting “I am powerful”, so the dominant colour of yellow would need to be revealed at the end as the focal point.
The challenge creatively with creating a multi-dimensional layered painting like this is that you want to have a dominant colour–such as the yellow shining through as it does in this piece.
But if you mix anything other than white with yellow, it turns into really weird colours. For example, mixing black with yellow gives you green. But if you start mixing other colours, you get muck. So I had to be very careful when adding a new layer and setting the tone and then letting it dry.
As such this painting was truly a test of my own personal power. I was forced to exercise this because after I’d put on a new layer, I had to let it dry completely before I could add something else. I could only do a little bit at a time, so it took many weeks to build up to that final place where we see this beautiful image.
Show Information
The Drishti Experience – Capturing the Frequency of My Well-Being
Deb Chaney, Solo Exhibit, Amelia Douglas Gallery
November 7, 2025 – January 9, 2025
Seven large scale mixed media abstract paintings by Deb Chaney. Her latest work is inspired by her desire to experience and visually express the frequency of her well-being. This series sheds light on the link between healing mental illness and developing spiritual consciousness.
Location
Amelia Douglas Gallery
Fourth Floor North, Douglas College
700 Royal Avenue, New Westminster, BC V3M 5Z5
Gallery Hours
Monday–Friday: 10:00 AM–7:30 PM
Saturday: 11:00 AM–4:00 PM
Sunday: Closed
Gallery Website