"The Force" Digital Painting Style

From where does the drive to compete originate?  Is it from some chemical or electrical process in the brain or from some mysterious spot deep in the thing we call the mind?  Does it come from our soul, or does it emanate from our creator?  Who knows?  Philosophers have debated for centuries about the source of motivation and desires.  Regardless of whether we ever discover the ultimate source, it is indisputable that some people have an ability to tap into something which drives them to be the best.  Coaches strive to develop that drive in each of their gymnasts.

"The Force" is an impressionistic painting which illustrates the flow of that drive from some exterior source to the gymnast in competition.  Personally, I find comfort in believing that there is a loving, benevolent being greater than each of us from  whom we can derive peace, love, motivation, drive, joy, and a myriad of other gifts.  

The first time I painted "The Force," I was thinking of the sun's rays or the light of a spotlight.  Then I located an image of a gymnast on the beam with her arm extended upward and her face looking above.  The concept hit me like a ton of bricks.  Adding the cosmos behind her seemed to enhance the illustration.  I finished the background with convoluted strokes of white and multi-colored light representing unbridled energy of the universe.  When random energy is focused in a highly competitive gymnast, magic happens!  The first painting of "The Force" has been followed by a number of others, with each using various elements to represent the same infusion of competitive drive and the gymnast's expression of such drive in his or her performance.