Morning Walk

I think strong is beautiful, like an oak is beautiful or a mountain or an ocean...all of those beautiful things are strong. I woke up one morning and took my coffee outside. I stood with the sun on my back, just watching the early morning light dance on the leaves and on the grass. Then I noticed that everything seemed to have a slight halo around it. I wanted to capture what I felt, to somehow open the shade on the window into the spirit world. I felt connected to the earth and to the all the living things around me. I often feel a part of nature. Later in the day, a I drove, I noticed a creek, running near the highway, glistening in the sun. I pulled my vehicle off the road at the edge of someone's corn patch and walked over to the creek. I took photos. Then I married my feelings of the morning with the photos of the creek. I thought about how that girl in my painting was nature personified. As I painted her, I wanted her to be more than she seems. She is in human form, but I wanted the painting to convey that she might transform into a phoenix or ancient earth goddess at any given moment.