There is a certain quiet that only comes from being outside. Fresh air, clean breezes and the sounds of nature are both basic and complex in the most comforting sort of way. This week while hiking up the Emerald Pools trail in Zion National Park I did not feel that familiar calm I normally do. It was a sunny, brisk day and everyone in the park seemed to be on this trail. It was difficult to hear my own thoughts let alone any quiet on this particular hike.
I decided to head back down the trail in hopes of finding a bit of solitude in my painting. Of course the most perfect vista was just off the trail and I knew would not provide any sort of recluse. I sat anyway, pulled out my paints and proceeded to sketch.
Footsteps rustled behind me as hikers whizzed by…but then it was an hour later and I was immersed in the color, dancing light in the canyon and my hands were covered with watercolor. I realized in that moment my painting had transported me to a small, quiet place amongst the hustle of the trail and I was grateful.
The painting is still not complete and only about 20 minutes from the stage you see here, but that isn’t the point. I made a moment for myself with the creation of this piece; a moment of sweet quiet amongst the noise.