Nina came to visit my studio.  I showed her my two newest seascapes, one of Marseille, one of Brittany.  The Marseille image is the sunniest blue. It is bright, and warm. You can feel the sun as it easily dances off of the sea.  The reflection of Brittany is cooler in its colors, but contains a completely different warmth. Brittany’s charm comes not with the ease, but the struggle. Here the beauty runs deeper. It is the beloved actor who doesn’t rely on the face, but the soul. 

Nina was drawn immediately to the painting of Brittany.  This is not a surprise.  She comes from the French/German border. She has lived in the comfort of these colors, the greens and browns and beiges. These are the colors of home. And it’s not just about seeing the colors of home, it is perhaps about being seen. If she see herself in this painting, and knows that I think it, too, is beautiful, then I am seeing her. I am seeing her beauty.
And isn’t this what we all want? Need. To be seen. 

This is not just the job of the artists. This is for all humans. The law makers, the officers, the clergy, the bankers, the teachers, the neighbors, the families… those living and breathing, every day, in your world, in the whole world. 

We all want to be seen…we all need to be acknowledged for that moment in time…that time to look into someone’s face and know it’s more than ok to be you…we’re all asking for a few precious moments, and looking for someone to say, “I’m not too busy.