On the left side of the canvas, there they are — three strokes of white that decided to stay together.
Mama, Daddy, and the little one. You can see them if you let your eyes go soft. Not painted, exactly, but left behind. The world rushed by in greens and reds and oranges, in heavy, hurried verticals, but those three white marks held hands and stood still.
The rest of the forest is full.
The painting is called Reflections, and for years it hung in the hallway of a beach house where everyone walked past it too fast. Guests thought it was just abstract — pretty colors for a rental. But the little girl who lived there in the summers knew better.
"They're all turned away," she told her grandfather one August evening when the house was quiet.
"Who is?" he asked.
"The others."
She pointed with a small finger. "There — purple. She’s looking for her dog. And there — red and blue — they had a fight and aren't talking. And way in the back, that tall yellow one is pretending he doesn't miss home."
Her grandfather leaned closer. The thick paint caught the late light. She was right. Once you saw it, you couldn't unsee it. Dozens of figures, shoulders hunched, backs turned, each absorbed in their own color, their own streak, moving through life as if the rest of the world was just background.
Except for the three in white.
"Why are they different?" the girl whispered.
"Because they stopped," her grandfather said. "Maybe just for a second. To look at the same thing at the same time. To be reflected together."
Years later, the girl came back to the house as a woman. The painting was still there, a little dusty. She brought her own two — a husband and a baby boy in a carrier. She stood in front of it and laughed.
Her husband said, "What?"
She pointed to the left side. "We’re in there now."
And for just a moment, in the thick, messy, colorful rush of it all, three strokes of white stood still again.
Medium: Acrylic on canvas, heavy impasto and translucent glazes.
Palette: Electric lime, emerald, crimson, magenta, turquoise, violet, titanium white and umber shadows.
Vibe: Joyful, energetic and contemplative-neon rain meets coastal light, a celebration of color that still feels grounded and reflective.
Dimensions: 50 × 39 × 3
On the left side of the canvas, there they are — three strokes of white that decided to stay together.
Mama, Daddy, and the little one. You can see them if you let your eyes go soft. Not painted, exactly, but left behind. The world rushed by in greens and reds and oranges, in heavy, hurried verticals, but those three white marks held hands and stood still.
The rest of the forest is full.
The painting is called Reflections, and for years it hung in the hallway of a beach house where everyone walked past it too fast. Guests thought it was just abstract — pretty colors for a rental. But the little girl who lived there in the summers knew better.
"They're all turned away," she told her grandfather one August evening when the house was quiet.
"Who is?" he asked.
"The others."
She pointed with a small finger. "There — purple. She’s looking for her dog. And there — red and blue — they had a fight and aren't talking. And way in the back, that tall yellow one is pretending he doesn't miss home."
Her grandfather leaned closer. The thick paint caught the late light. She was right. Once you saw it, you couldn't unsee it. Dozens of figures, shoulders hunched, backs turned, each absorbed in their own color, their own streak, moving through life as if the rest of the world was just background.
Except for the three in white.
"Why are they different?" the girl whispered.
"Because they stopped," her grandfather said. "Maybe just for a second. To look at the same thing at the same time. To be reflected together."
Years later, the girl came back to the house as a woman. The painting was still there, a little dusty. She brought her own two — a husband and a baby boy in a carrier. She stood in front of it and laughed.
Her husband said, "What?"
She pointed to the left side. "We’re in there now."
And for just a moment, in the thick, messy, colorful rush of it all, three strokes of white stood still again.
Medium: Acrylic on canvas, heavy impasto and translucent glazes.
Palette: Electric lime, emerald, crimson, magenta, turquoise, violet, titanium white and umber shadows.
Vibe: Joyful, energetic and contemplative-neon rain meets coastal light, a celebration of color that still feels grounded and reflective.
Dimensions: 50 × 39 × 3