Tuesday, February 6, 2018

Stream of Consciousness

Recently, my wife decided to try something she had never done before. Her talents never cease to amaze me. The result, in my humble opinion, is a work of art that could be displayed in the finest London art gallery. She has always been an excellent doodler, at least since she was able to doodle anyway. But this is her first attempt at paint on canvas. The actual painting is roughly 16" x 20" and I don't think this electronic version does it justice. 

There's a lot of detail in this painting that I could never replicate nor could I fully describe. It's both cold and warm at the same time. I think my favorite part might be the sun. There's a luminosity in it that I didn't think could be captured on canvas. It makes me feel like I'm actually looking at the sun. Don't you have the urge to squint when you look at it? 

I was going to mention something about the dark area on the left of the painting and I was going to do so by using cardinal directions, but then it dawned on me. I didn't know if the sun was rising or setting. Then my mind wandered to the armchair used by George Washington for three months at the Constitutional Convention in 1787. On the final day of the Convention, as the delegates were signing the new document, Benjamin Franklin remarked "I have often looked at that sun behind the president without being able to tell whether it was rising or setting. But now at length I have the happiness to know it is a rising and not a setting sun." Franklin, of course, was using the rising sun as a symbol of the dawning of a new nation.

Following Franklin's lead, I'm going to call this a rising sun because, while the periphery of this painting may be cold, there's a warmth the draws you in towards the sun. There's a sense of optimism. It's a gentle reminder, I think, that in life we need to stay focused on our goals and not get bogged down by the things that are happening on our peripheries. We need to search for the light. We need to seek the truth. We need to remain steadfast in our journeys lest we get lost in the wilderness where we may succumb to the cold and darkness. And if you ever find yourself feeling lost, seek the light. You'll be found and a new day will dawn.

I think maybe the painting ought to be named "Stream of Consciousness". 

Like this post.

Even though it's not a stream.

The painting I mean.

Not this post.

Here's the chair: