The First Turn
SCROLL TO EXPLORE THE ARTWORK, INSPIRATION AND SYMBOLISM
Quote that inspired this piece:
“Above all, be the heroine of your life, not the victim.”
— Nora Ephron
My poem for this painting:
There is a moment
when the door begins to loosen beneath your hand.
The old fog remains for a while.
Soft at the edges.
Familiar.
But no longer enough
to keep you from seeing
what might be waiting beyond it.
Something in you is stirring,
beginning to climb.
A small, insistent reaching
towards the light.
Even the flowers that bloom in winter
know this:
that endurance is not the same
as standing still.
You do not need to become fearless
to begin.
You do not need every answer
before you move.
There is courage
in the first turn of the key.
In deciding that your life
will not be shaped
only by what has been before.
And somewhere between
the leaving and the opening,
you remember—
you don’t need to wait
to be rescued.
You were meant
to become the woman
who opens the door.
Symbolism:
RED SMOKE BUSH:
- Represents the old self beginning to loosen its hold. Its soft, cloud-like haze speaks to the fog of uncertainty that has surrounded her for so long — but here, that fog is beginning to lift.
- She is no longer entirely hidden within the life she has outgrown. The edges of something new are starting to appear.
PURPLECLEMATIS
- Placed over her heart, the clematis is the central symbol of the painting.
- It represents the part of her that is no longer simply imagining another life, but moving towards it.
- A flower that climbs towards the light, it speaks to her heart, mind and imagination becoming active forces in her own becoming. She is beginning to reach.
HELLEBORE
- The hellebores carry the quieter, steadier note beneath the painting.
- Flowering in the cold season, they represent resilience, discernment and the private strength that has endured through the years when nothing seemed to be changing.
- They speak to her inward gaze — to her growing trust in her own inner compass.
ALSTROEMERIA
- The red-and-white alstroemeria bring a bright flare of vitality into the work.
- Representing endurance, determination and the return of her life-force.
- This is the first visible energy of a woman beginning to move forward — the small but undeniable green shoots of a life beginning to take shape.
HIDDEN KEY:
- In this painting it represents the first turn in the lock.
- The door is not yet fully open, but it has begun to give, and that changes everything!
Artwork details
-
68cm x 56cm
(approx. 27” x 22”)
Mixed Media on 290gsm Fabriano Paper -
Release date to be confirmed.
Available for four days only, exclusively online via joannablairartist.com -
Available in four sizes for the duration of the four-day release only.
Each print edition is limited in quantity and will not be re-released once the release closes.
Join the Collector’s List for private release invitations,
early access and glimpses behind the work.