“The Peace of Wild Things” by Wendell Berry, 1968
"When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children's lives may be...
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children's lives may be...
...I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things...
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things...
...who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water...
of grief. I come into the presence of still water...
...And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light....
waiting with their light....
...For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free."
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free."
I have always loved Wendell Berry’s beautiful poem, but his words feel especially prescient in these troubled times. In my research for this painting, I spent a great deal of time in nature, exploring little creeks and rivers, tramping through forests, and crouching in riotous clusters of ferns. In those moments, the disturbances and troubles that have recently defined our existence felt very far away, and the continuity of nature was a great comfort.
The concept for this painting started with the Fibonacci sequence, the “Golden Ratio” that defines nature - from hurricanes to nautilus shells.
In the top left and right of the painting, you may notice small constellations; these are Corona Australis and Corona Borealis, respectively (Souther Crown and Northern Crown).
This painting is a celebration of cycles; rocks grow moss and soften into meadows; water finds its way to the earth and back to the sky; stars wheel above us and visit like old friends; and, in the grace of the world, we are free.
“Without Forethought of Grief”
16 x 20 inches (40 x 50 cm)
Watercolor, Prismacolor colored pencils,
16 x 20 inches (40 x 50 cm)
Watercolor, Prismacolor colored pencils,
and gesso on illustration board
Created on commission.
Created on commission.