Week 121 

Sometimes everything is just in the noticing. 

In itself, it is an art. Noticing a moment unfurl before you.  Noticing when simplicity only amplifies the ethereal. Noticing the nuance of light, a fickle and generous friend. How it illuminates unruly, flyaway hair into a halo. The way it pierces the fabric to glow from within. The ruddy reflections of warm bodies it leaves on the floor. It dances lightly here and floods elsewhere. 

Beyond the light, there is more. It is the actual structure of this moment. Pure innocence and overflowing love. In another time it could be passed over. Perceiving can take discipline. And sometimes seeing the heart underneath layers of peripheral things can’t be seen until after the moment has passed. 

As I paint the luminous folds of the simple summer dress, Laert follows “breaking the lines” and giving it motion. Then, the innocence of her arms hugging a little too tight takes hold of me. It is the love that overwhelms us that bodily compels us into good and thus into the light. 

Sweetness of Dawn

34 x 27 | Oil on Panel