We are always seeking to capture the elusive element of time. When we experience something wonderful, we usually want to take a photograph, hoping to freeze the moment in order to relive it again. Yet by the very act of trying to capture an experience, we often make it more elusive. For the moments themselves will never exist again. And the process of trying to capture them may distract us from actually experiencing them. We wish to learn the art of being in the moment.
As an artist, one of my challenges and joys is to transcend this limitation of time. How do I convey timelessness? I seek to portray the horse in a way that captures the impressions one would experience it if one were actually there witnessing the event.
In my painting, “Shadow Dancer”, a client once observed that the horse seemed about to take the next step. Therefore he was never really still, but in a perpetual state of potential movement. The image is condensed down to the essential elements of what our eyes would focus on if we saw a beautiful black horse dancing in the sand. We wouldn’t see the trees, the barn, the fence, or the sky – we would only see the horse, we would only feel the magic.
Have you ever noticed that when we pay close attention to something that time seems to stand still? Time passes more quickly when we try to do too much at once, and we can miss the essential moments that are truly important. I always try to remember when I see something beautiful, or feel something wonderful – to take the time to stop, breathe, and experience it fully…
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