Yesterday I saw the sky, strikingly blue, behind a row of dark evergreens and a bright yellow-orange poplar. As usual, I wanted to imprint the scene in my memory and paint it. There is something inside me that desires to capture and hold beauty.

As I looked at the intensity of the colors and the gorgeous contrasts, the thought came to my mind, “paint what you see,” not as in, “paint this particular scene,” but, “paint the way you see life; paint it from your perspective, paint it exactly as it appears to you.”

It is very challenging for an artist to capture a mood and try and recreate the precise feelings evoked by a scene. But isn’t this what draws us into a unique work of art? We see a painting and it moves us. It speaks to us without words.

The fall season, in the northwest is so beautiful it takes my breath away. I am intimidated at the thought of trying to recreate what I see, to put it on paper or on canvas. My attempts usually end in disappointment. But every day I can enjoy this beauty as I look out my windows or go for a walk or a drive. The part of me that desires to capture and hold beauty can’t help but praise and thank and honour the original Artist.