Colour in the Light

Something a bit different this week. About colour and about light.



On Friday I stopped on my way to work to take some photos of The Carillon in Canberra. The bell tower sits on a small island in Lake Burley Griffin and on this morning the main body of water was shrouded in vapor rising from the warm water (it was -3 degrees C). Closer to shore, though, the morning sun was streaming in and the cold air made for crystal blue skies. Some autumn foliage was still clinging to the trees and reflected beautifully in the water.

There was nobody else to be seen and it felt like I had the moment all to myself and even though I had only a few minutes to stop, something deep was stirred within me.

I feel as though I have been moving in a mist over the past few years and have only begun to come back out into the sun again. This sight seemed to illustrate my life right now and the choice I face. I can return to the mist and stay there or I can follow the light and bask in the colour.

Standing on the lakeshore on Friday morning brought to mind how the Impressionist painters tried to capture light on their canvases. Perhaps that is why I am so partial to this artistic movement above all others. Light revealing colour. Colour defining light. It is not so much that light helps me see where I am going, although I do like that, but rather that light reveals more options. There is more life to embrace, more life to celebrate in the light. More colour.



Interestingly, a couple of friends have recently visited Monet's gardens in Giverny, France. Something I regret that we were not able to do when we were there. The photos from this garden reveal why Monet's waterlilies are such masterpieces. I could swim in his paintings and a print of one of them has hung in my home since I was 20. It is a constant reminder of the beauty of the ordinary, the joy of colour and the gift of light.



"Monet seeks to become intoxicated by the abundant wine of the air, the light, the flowers, and still more light. Through his use of color, he had undeniably conquered every fleeting object that can be conquered. He has taken changing appearances and made them permanent, trying to grasp all of nature's faces at every moment."
-- Arsene Alexandre, writing in Le Figaro, 10 December 1926

So I am moving toward the light. And I know that as I do, the path forward will become all the more clear ... and colourful!