Too Many Moons— Coming to Principle Gallery
Nothing is more fatal to happiness than the remembrance of happiness.
—André Gide, The Immoralist
I am still trying to figure out what I am seeing in this painting that contains what I perceive to be multiple moons. It feels playful on one hand but also feels like a representation of some sort of remembrance of the past.
I don’t think it represents a longing or nostalgia for the past. Like the words above from Gide, I tend to believe that nostalgia discounts and takes away from the wonders of the here and now or, at least, distracts us from fully appreciating and engaging with the present.
No, this feels less like nostalgia and more like a deep recollection of the past, where one is trying to determine the precise course that brought them to the present moment. All the twists and turns of life, the ups and downs. The right decisions and the wrong.
Everything meaningful that took place while going unnoticed or unappreciated at the time. All those moments that made us what we see ourselves as being today.
It’s an impossible task and maybe that’s what this represents– that there are too many moons to recollect. To appreciate the present moment and where you are.
Hmm. That’s not too bad for 6 AM. I might go with that. It works for this morning, at least.
This painting, Too Many Moons, 8″ by 16″ on canvas, is coming with me this Saturday, September 28, when I head down to the Principle Gallery in Alexandria, VA. I will be giving my annual Gallery Talk there on that day, beginning at 1 PM. It is usually an hour of a little talk, many questions and a few answers, a free drawing for one of my paintings (see Saturday’s post!) and a few other surprises. Hope to see you there.
Redtree Times 