Hello friends and welcome to my favourite month of the year: May! I always look forward to May because it’s my birth month AND it actually feels like spring. Naturally, I chose a painting for this month that brings me joy and I’m excited to tell you about it.
“Chasing Presence” began as a too-good-to-pass-up art supplies deal. I bought three 24”x36” canvases with no idea what I would paint on them. I had an inkling that maybe I could do a series of cloud paintings but no concrete concepts.
Then, in April last year, I was offered the opportunity to hang my work at a local beverage shop and suddenly, the canvas had a direction. I chose a dramatic cloud photo taken by my daughter and painted “Chasing Presence” as part of my “Have You Looked Up Lately?” exhibition.
I had never done such high contrast clouds before and it was so much fun. Looking at this image takes me straight to a sunny spring day, watching the wind shift and sculpt the clouds. That feeling is what I tried to express through the title, “Chasing Presence.” It’s about actively paying attention to the cloud that is right now before it morphs into something else; of getting lost in the joy and wonder of the moment.
During my exhibition, several people commented on how this piece reminded them of Renaissance art and of the “Creation of Adam” by Michelangelo. I hadn’t considered that before and felt like a very kind compliment.
While I had hoped that someone would fall absolutely in love with this painting and want to collect it for their space (which hasn’t happened yet – but I’m confident this is meant for someone!), I have been grateful to have its company in our home while I have been recovering from my surgeries. It has reminded me to keep looking up and to remember that though there may be clouds, the sun shines behind them.
For those with the Scripture calendar:
I paired this month’s painting with the verse from Hebrews 13:5, which reads, “Be content with what you have.” The full context of the verse is, “Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, ‘Never will I leave you;
never will I forsake you.’”
When I was putting this calendar together, I chose to focus on the contentment part because it tied in with the practice of living in the present moment. However, as I write this on the couch, unable to work while I wait for my body to heal, I am also convicted by the first part – to not be preoccupied with my finances – as well as the promise that is the foundation for all of this – that God will never leave or forsake us.
Questions for reflection, if you want to go deeper: What about this image stands out to you? Imagine the wind moving these clouds and changing their shape, how do you feel knowing that each moment is unique? What is one moment you can be fully present for in your life today?