Not until we are lost do we begin to understand ourselves.
—Henry David Thoreau
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I used the painting above to illustrate a post several years back. Titled I Was Lost, this is an experimental piece I did back in early 1997. It remains one of my favorite pieces, one that I linger over when I come across it in my computer’s files or when I go through some older work stored in a bin here in the studio.
There’s nothing special about this piece. It’s a simple thought that was quickly rendered. It definitely didn’t end up anywhere in the vicinity of perfection. Some of the lines veer and quiver uncertainly while the tree trunks sometimes bulge erratically. There’s not really much to grab onto in this piece.
Yet for all it’s deficiencies there is something in this painting that simply speaks to me in a personal way. There’s a flawed elegance in it that moves me– a grace that provides me with hope on those days when the world seems bleak and it is hard to see beyond the trees that obscure the path ahead.
Thoreau’s words mesh well with this piece. To put it another way: Adversity builds character. A-B-C.
When we are lost in the woods, look past the trees that block our view. There’s a way forward. We may not like it at the time but every challenge provides us with the opportunity to discover more of who we really are.
Sorry for going off on a pep talk this morning. Hopefully, you didn’t need it. And if you did, I hope this helps a bit.
Redtree Times 