My paintings lead much more interesting lives than I do, many having made their way to every corner of this country and around the world, to all the continents save Antarctica. They have traveled from Kathmandhu to Kampala and many points in between and beyond. Well, yesterday brought the news that another painting has just began a new journey abroad. The new American Ambassador to Kuwait, Douglas Silliman, has chosen The Way of the Master , seen above, to hang in the American Embassy in Kuwait City.
This marks the third time that my work has been chosen by an Ambassador to hang in an embassy and it is always an honor. There is always a feeling of representing the United States, even if it is only in a small way, to those visitors who might come across the painting in the embassy as well as representing some form of home and comfort to the Ambassador. And in the region of the world where this painting is headed, that could serve a valuable purpose.
It’s a purpose that I think fits this painting very well. In a post I wrote about this painting back in May, I spoke of this representing the end of a journey, one that has culminated in a higher sense of being as a result of immense effort and dedication to the journey. And those are both things that will be needed to reach some sort of peaceful future for the region.
I would like to thank Ambassador Silliman for having chose this painting. It is an honor that I greatly appreciate and I hope that it serves him well in what may be the difficult days ahead. I wish him the best and hope that he does his best in this assignment in such a critical area of the world.
As I quoted from Confucius in that earlier post:
“There is one single thread binding my way together…the way of the Master consists in doing one’s best…that is all.”
Redtree Times 