This painting was my retreat from the world starting in late 2021. I didn’t complete it until 2023. While I painted this garden, I imagined what it would be like to sit on the grass, surrounded by art, while contemplating life.

The two figures are continuing to talk intensely about art and life, as they did in my previous painting “The Conversation”. The pointillist topiary head sculpture leans in to listen. Their current conclusion about art is that it’s not random. There are reasons for our creations. Art comes from a deep need within us to grow in knowledge and understanding of ourselves. For the most part we are unaware that we are in earth school and that our creations are microcosmic experiments that we take towards understanding the macrocosm.

There’s plenty of symbolism in this painting. The abstract turquoise and blue sculptures represent the journey of all beings to find balance. The maze leads to the light and higher understandings. The red sculpture pays homage to this process. The bear empties his mind of all distractions to find answers while, Daisy, the fox surveys her territory. The abstract painting and the blue bubble sculpture represent the waves of change and the broken green arch represents those that have come and gone. The splash flowers represent sudden sparks of thought about the meaning of art and why we create.