Dramatic

Each time I walk to the Savannah River, I stop at the bridge
and listen. The hum of the water, the quiet pulse of current brings calm inside
me. This is my happy place. Sunrises and sunsets here are more than scenery. Each day
offers a new canvas, blank and waiting, filled with the possibility of color
and imagination. The spring skies are especially generous, full of surprises.
Spurts of color burst across the horizon igniting my faculties. As a painter, I don’t copy what I see. I transpose emotion.
The sky offers cues, and I respond.  I select
the palette from how the morning makes me feel. I’ve painted this location
countless times, yet I keep returning. I wait for the next dramatic show, the
next visual dialogue between sky and water. The love locks on the bridge, the small declarations of
permanence, catch the first ray of sunlight. At the far end of the rapids,
there’s always subtle chaos. There is a play of light, and the undercurrents
move with secret intention. It never stays still, and that’s what keeps calling
me back.