A frequent question we are asked about our art is “how do you both work on the same painting?” There are many aspects and parts to our work from imagining the art image, photographing  models, creating montages, and using various techniques and steps in painting and finishing a final artwork. As a couple who works together in one way or another on every art project, we cannot really separate our work from how we function and interact in a positive way with each other in our personal life, sharing our passions and excitement about whatever is our current project. We never try to second guess our audience as we enjoy appealing to a wide range of people with varied interests and backgrounds and love surprises and unexpected reactions, both positive and negative.

Most of our home is part of our studio and we rearrange the art in our living room “gallery” regularly. We look at the art that is in process and imagine any changes either of us would like to see. Thus, our imagination and stories are continually changing and infused with the reflections of each of us. Each painting stimulates many hours of reflection, writing, and sharing. When we find ourselves in conflict, we choose a “director,” the one who had the original idea, who gets to have the final say. In future blogs, we plan to share some of the most exciting outcomes of these moments, including our art, our writing and our direction in our work.

What led us to becoming visual artists?

Creative imagination became an integral part of our personal life from the beginning of our partnership. I lived in Sedona, Arizona and was a mind-body therapist with a humanistic and metaphysical orientation when we got together, and Bob was just finishing up his career in Sacramento where he lead metaphoric psychodrama groups, trained and supervised psychology Interns and had a private practice in which his approach was primarily what he coined Imaginal Therapy. Possibly, because we had worked together in the same field many years before and were both creative in our approaches to our work, we began our chapter together with a fair amount of trust. As individuals who were used to creating outside the norm, changing our direction as “retirement age” folks was not a big stretch for us. We were more than ready to move to a new location and to minimize our previous identities as psychotherapists, trying something entirely new for us.

As adventurous souls, we allowed our imagination to take priority in leading our creative energies in a new direction.  Our emphasis on creative story art and the feminine was a natural bridge from our previous background in psychology. For over 20 years we have enjoyed the challenge of this new direction, experimenting with new ideas and techniques, and varied ways to express them. What is most important to us, is that we have fun and enjoy the process as much as we enjoy the outcome. Most recently we have focused on Bob’s novel, editing and self-publishing.

After moving to the creative community of Eureka on the north coast of California in 1995, we began exploring ways of visually and artistically expressing common experiences and dramas through art. We followed our excitement about the visual arts and found our imagination to be strong enough to help us through the technical learning curve. We began with photography and quickly jumped into montages of creative scenes with a message or story to be told. We won early awards and began exhibiting on a regular basis, learning a great deal from the feedback we would receive at our exhibits, what people were attracted to, and what they would buy.

We realized there was much more to learn about doing art and we wanted to express beyond the limitations of photography. We took lots of photos of models and Humboldt backgrounds, capturing various emotions and arranging scenes that would project familiar archetypal stories to viewers. We found that painting our montages provided a greater opportunity for the projections of one’s personal story. We used a lot of trial and error to express our intentions and studied with teachers in the field of digital painting and later, painting with acrylics. We continue to try new ideas and learn new techniques in our work.

Today our work often reflects common themes and stories with which many people can identify. We use universal symbols and themes that can help viewers to create a deeper connection with our art. To further extend our creativity into the field of writing as well as to deepen our own experience of our work, we began writing fictional stories inspired by our art. Bob, who used to direct creative fictional writing with his clients, has found that writing can be fun and a form of release while also leading to deeper insights and understandings. Bob has always been big on humor and fiction as healing tools and avenues to reach the unconscious.

Shared by Donna Sellers

View From The Diner by Bob and Donna Sellers

Story by Donna Sellers

Anna finally decides to tell Wimple their relationship is over and invites him to Mable’s Diner. Attempting to be strong, Anna shares, “Wimp, I know it’s tough for you to make money as a watercolor artist, but you have been living at your parent’s house ever since we met. I just don’t want to pretend any longer that we will have a future together.”

“Please, Anna, don’t give up on me. I have an exhibit coming up soon. Lots of people will see my work on Arts’ Alive. I’m sure I will soon be discovered.”

“I’m really sorry, Wimple, but I AM leaving,” Anna shares, as she gets up from her seat, straightens her dress, while desperately holding back the tears threatening to express her mixed feelings. She rushes, with determination, out of the diner.

Wimp, now quite frantic, chases after her, hoping he can convince her to change her mind. After all, they have been at the point of breaking up before.

Anna is relieved when she sees Bucky driving toward the diner. Pulling herself together, and attempting to look as sexy as possible, she steps into the street, hoping Bucky will give her a ride in his hot Cobra.

“Please stay with me,” Wimple begs, as he sees Anna turning her attentiontowards the man in the red Cobra.

As Wimple realizes Anna is serious this time, he quickly pulls out his notepad and pen as he watches Anna drive away with Bucky. He takes a few notes and turns, anxiously looking around. Wimple thinks, “Oh no, have I lost my bicycle again?”

Story by Bob Sellers

 Amy Reddish graduated college very physically fit: majored in gymnastics and dance. Professional employment opportunities run the other way when she applies. Finally, she becomes assistant cheerleader coach at the High School. Minimum wage.

 Living in the moment, her male friends find her very attractive, playful and impulsive.  But her empty future awakens her every night with worry.

She meets Don Plaidley, owner of the local diner and five more. Well known, respected as a businessman, and contributor to community causes, Mr. Plaidley loves the confidence he feels. “Business is my door to the good life,” he tells his goldfish.

Plaidley notices Amy the first time she enters his diner. “Oh,” he whispers to himself feeling the energy of her attractiveness. Instantly he knows he wants her, a feeling first for him.

After lunch, Amy leaves the diner, noticing Plaidley following her: his eyes holding her. “Please … uh … you … me,” he’s able to say before his tongue tangles. Feeling his heart rate double, fear freezes him. Wordlessly, he gestures his passion offering his open hands as if to say, “Like me or something.”

 Amy shows no surprise at Plaidley’s move on her. She turns to smile for him when she hears the roar of the approaching red Cobra muscle car. It’s the rodeo cowboy, Bucky Jonson, who she met yesterday at the bull-riding event. Trying to remember his name, she steps into the street to get him to stop.

Seeing the issue, Plaidley forcefully warns her about the likes of men like him.

Amy turns to Plaidley revealing feelings of uncertainty in her face and body. Her father had talked like that.

Temptation Of Little Bo Peep by Bob and Donna Sellers

 Bo Peep’s Moment by Bob Sellers

 Up along the ocean north, Coast Redwoods trees become the world’s tallest, some over 1,000 years.

Bo Peep brings her flock to a grassy, redwood meadow deep. A boy she thinks is Eric or Aaron brings a jug. Red wine she hopes.

Lazlo, a loyal Austrian Shepard dog, the master of the flock, sinks softly into the grass between two ancient trees to watch Bo and her possible lover create an intimacy to express the desire she feels. Bo has a conscious intent to surrender her virginity. Feeling urgent.

Watson, a British cricket hides in the deep grass beneath the redwoods close to Lazlo. Watson’s Alarmed! “ Bark at them. Stop them Lazlo,” screams Watson the cricket.  “That boy’s going rape Little Bo Peep,” he cries.

“You, Watson, are so wrong,” argues Lazlo. “ Bo wants this moment. See her hair, so curly and blond, and the sexy outfit.  She is in her Butterfly stage of life–to attract a mate. Her sexual energy is all that she feels. It’s irresistible.”

“If so, it will bring a sadness to the world,” Watson explains.  “We know Bo from the nursery rhyme. Mothers, grandmothers, children and members of the sheep herding culture know Bo as ‘little Bo Peep,’ an innocent, a virgin, pure and sweet.  Bo Peep’s only flaw is that once she lost her sheep. Now she is going to lose her virginity. She’s just not allowed. Stop her Lazlo! Before they go too far.”

“Nature wins,” shouts Lazlo and rushes forward to herd the little white lamb back to the flock. Romance happens.

“Good dog Lazlo, good boy,” whispers Eric or Aaron.

Interpretation by Donna Sellers

Temptation of Little Bo Peep is a story that may represent a conflict between Bo Peep and her boyfriend and the little white lamb standing nearby wanting her attention. This story may be viewed as a metaphor, relating to women who have children or some other responsibility creating conflict that make it difficult to enjoy the romance that is possible for them at the time because there is something blocking them. The way someone projects their imagination into the story might help to reveal underlying variables that may be involved in this conflict, while suggesting how they might be resolved. The deeper issue they may have becomes more visible and available to resolution by changing the story in their imagination.

This approach can help you to get to the underlying issues involved and may be totally surprising. For example, you might hear your Mother’s or your Father’s voice inside your head warning you about a romantic relationship. “You know men are only after one thing!” or, “You better not ignore your responsibilities for the family!” The inner voices you carry around in your head may not even be conscious. However, they can be powerful enough to interrupt the flow of what is happening at the moment. When you role-play or write about a character that is NOT YOU, you set aside the usual inner voice that may have been programmed by significant people in your life. It may not be your neighbor or your mother’s voice that gets in the way but some other person or persons who have had a significant impact upon you at some time in your life. These inner voices and thought forms can be powerful enough to interrupt the flow of what may be occurring in the moment.

A therapist might ask the client, “Can you remember the first time you heard this voice? What was happening at the time?” You may be acting out your feelings inappropriately, with the same intensity of feeling you had a very long time ago as though it is just happening for the first time. Once you realize you are not in present time, you have an opportunity to see the bigger picture and modify your response.

                           Red In A Blue World by Bob and Donna Sellers

The meaning of the stories in our art can be both direct and indirect. Those persons viewing the art might realize that the story represents a particular issue in their real life or might be a metaphor, indirectly representing an issue in their life.

Research suggests that people who engage their imagination in some creative way, may lead to a more positive and hopeful mood state than people who don’t use their imagination. Imagination is stimulated by our story art and encourages enjoyment and possibly further understanding of self and others.

An important variable is what you do with your imagination. Imagination when used to think of, or foresee the future, is projecting creative energy forward, like shaping a positive outcome, or creating a believable perception of the future that attracts you rather than a future that is discouraging. Imagining the future is a form of fiction. Allow your imagination to create a story you want for yourself, one you believe will work for you, a story that contains elements of life that please you, a story that will put juice into your daily existence.

Everyone lives a story. Our personal story, conscious or unconscious, is determinative. Our story defines who we are and who we are not. Our personal story is like a corral in which we live. Beliefs and behaviors which appear outside of our own corral are not believed to be who we are and therefore are often rejected as untrue. If your life needs something, someone, some adaptation that is not you, then enlarge and expand your story to include the characteristics that you want or need.

My practice as a therapist involved guiding people to use their imagination to create a new story more useful to them than the one they came in with. I called my work, “Imaginal Therapy.” In practice it ignored everyday reality in favor of a parallel metaphor that symbolically represented their reality. Symbolic Parallel Metaphors are easier to shape and evolve with fiction than the reality that people believe they are stuck with. It was what you would call an oblique approach to help people get to where they wanted to be. This approach was a very creative and an enjoyable experience for both myself and the client.

Imagination and Self-Discovery

If one chooses a particular character in an art image to role-play or write about, projecting their imagination into it with some amount of depth, their imagination may bring about a change of their self-definition, allowing them to be adaptive in some way that they may not have been in the past. You have to bring your characters alive as you write, giving them feelings, thoughts, perceptions, prejudices, fears, strengths, etc. and including all the characteristics you want them to have. Your imagination may lead to growth, conscious or unconscious, that may surface in some way and lead to change in some future moment in time. We provide suggestions on how’s to get started in your writing for those wanting to go this direction with our art, leading to a deepening of understanding of self and others in their lives.