Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. Do not be troubled and do not be afraid*

by chuckofish

By this evening I felt a little bit like a shell-shocked pioneer on his first wagon trip west — you know, the kind of journey where everything is against you, but there’s no turning back. As Taylor Sheridan put it in his (seriously flawed but occasionally brilliant and always pretty) TV show 1883, “The river doesn’t care if you can swim. The snake doesn’t care how much you love your children. And the wolf has no interest in your dreams. If you fail to beat the current, you will drown; if you get too close, you will be bitten. If you are too weak, you will be eaten.” When my life feels like that, albeit in a non-lethal, smothered-by-pointless-departmental-politics sort of way, I find solace in in beautiful things like the paintings of Canadian artist Clayton Anderson. (I hope Mr. Anderson will consider this free advertising rather than copywrite infringement. I got the pictures via Google Image).

His work seems muffled and blurred, almost as if he paints in the quiet of dawn without wearing his glasses — and I find that curiously appealing.

I also appreciate the jewel-like watercolors of Shanghai artist Z.L. Feng, about whom I could not find any useful information (ditto comment above about free advertising).

Anderson and Feng may not be old masters but they have plenty of calm to offer in this high-stress world. Of course nothing can beat greats like Winslow Homer —

or my all-time favorite, the 1st century AD garden fresco from the Villa of Livia at Prima Porta. This photo serves as my computer wallpaper and provides a much-appreciated bolt of beauty every time I open my laptop.

How lucky we are to be able to look at such art whenever we want. Before mass printing and computers, few copies existed for distribution, and only the most fortunate people got to see the originals.

There, I feel better now. I’m going to put everything else out of my mind and enjoy the beautiful things the world has to offer — and if I’m lucky, no snake will bite and no wolf take an interest in my dreams.

Have a peaceful weekend!

*John 14:27