The story of the painting, Eyrie, by Steve Henderson, at Start Your Week with Steve:
We live in a world that little appreciates the value and worth of solitude.
Our days consist of the busyness of commerce, and while one must work to eat, too many people work too much, for too long, and are satisfied with too little. After a long day in a cubicle, performing the work of three at the wages of less than one, the average person settles in the chair, in front of the TV, and listens to the mindless drone of a news announcer interpreting our world for us.
Life simply must consist of more than work, worry, and an endless ambition to achieve the world’s definition of success. Eyrie, original oil painting by Steve Henderson; licensed prints at Great Big Canvas, amanzon.com, art.com, allposters.com, Framed Canvas Art, iCanvasART, and Vision Art Galleries
Eyrie finds us in the Grand Canyon, an intricately formed cathedral of rocks and space, where a young woman — the Canyon Sprite — turns her face to the sun and absorbs its warmth and light and grace. She is alone, and yet not alone, because she is conscious of, and connecting to, the One who made her, and the canyon, and the universe, and the only sound is that of the wind gently whispering.
She has no cell phone upon her.
This moment cannot be broken, interrupted, and destroyed by an employer calling, demanding that she come in on her day off; or by a random friend whose first question is, “Where are you?”
This moment is sacred because it is hers, precious time devoted to nothing more than feeling the sun on her face, the breeze through her shawl, and the nearly imperceptible sound of a pebble dislodging and tumbling down the sheer rock face.
This moment is precious because it is hers, taken by choice and kept — free and away from intrusion by others who don’t care that the sun is shining on a perfect, perfect day.
Eyrie is an inspirational reminder that these moments of solitude which strengthen our spirit and renew our mind are within our grasp, and they require only a choice: to put away the toys of modern life, walk to a place where no one knows that we are, and experience — if only for a short time — the miraculous gift of solitude.
This may be in our back yard. It may be at a chair in our bedroom. It may be behind a locked bathroom door — but it is someplace, somewhere, where we consciously choose to disassociate ourselves from the constant, relentless, and thankless demands of the corporate world that has hijacked the real one.
Turn off the phone. Close your eyes. And let the sunlight dance across your face.
Eyrie is an original painting by Steve Henderson, 30 inches high by 36 inches wide, gallery wrapped so that it can be hung without a frame.
Eyrie is also available as a licensed print at Great Big Canvas, iCanvasART, Framed Canvas Art, Art.com, Amazon.com, and AllPosters. It is also available as a limited edition print to cover your large, flat screen TV when not in use, at Vision Art Galleries.
Read the rest, including Steve’s art, Ocean Breeze and Bold Innocence, at Joss and Main’s Wall Art: The Masters event through February 6, 2015, at Start Your Week with Steve.
