WHO NEEDS ART

RESURRECTION - WATER SHIELD #101 & #102 oil on linen 6"x6" 2014 WHO NEEDS ART? When I go out paddling on May Pond, I see all of the things that one expects to enjoy on a lovely autumn day in Vermont. There are the hills, brilliant in their fall colors, the sparkling sky, a loon or maybe two. At the very shallow end of the pond the depth diminishes and eventually the muddy bottom comes up to the surface and the kayak can go no further. It is here that I find the Water Shield plants (Brasenia scherberi). In September and October these tiny floating leaves put on their autumn colors. The leaves are riddled with the trails of leaf miners and spots of decay. All of this make for a stunning array of color and pattern. As I paddle among them, I am dazzled and completely absorbed by the beauty to be found in an unlikely place in an unassuming little plant. And I think to myself - with every square inch of the surface a study in abstract pattern and color, "who needs art, anyway?" - Then I finally realized that it is I who needs art. I need it so that I can have some means of conveying to other people what I have seen and rejoice in. These paintings are the reflection of that joy in natural color and form. I feel that my paint brush has been recruited into the service of a common, little water plant.