52 Summers
We see with the eyes of a child, think with the mind of a dreamer, blend past with the present to light the path forward. We are artists searching for ourselves in hopes of guiding others. We find inspiration in the forgotten, beauty in the discarded. We listen through open windows of trucks driving past, rain pounding the grass, and birds finding a mate. A voice asking how we want our morning bagel lifts our spirits and we see strangers as friends for a brief moment. Taking a child's hand we feel the wisdom in our own hands for a moment and are sadden at the thought of the hands that guided us.
There is a lot there when we lift that brush to do a painting. Whether in the field or in our studio we are expressing ourselves, finding ourselves, and redefining ourselves. Our subjects reveal themselves, through our paintings, to the viewer while our style reveals to the viewer who we, ourselves, are.
Painting can be a pastime or lifetime; a way of living thinking or breathing. How I see the world is very different than how I saw the world at twenty. Everyone grows in different ways. I believe years of painting different subjects has given me a different perspective on the world around me. I know the people I have met through art has widened my view of the world. At twenty I looked for things to paint that would "wow" people. Now I want to "wow" people with simple things - old trees along quiet roads, two sisters sharing time before their own families consume their lives, an old couple sharing an apple after 52 summers together. Even the nude has changed for me. I see my own youth of long ago, and now I see hope posing before me. The conversations have changed, I listen more, learn that I can still learn, and on occasion I can enlighten.
