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Hope Takes Flight
The other day I forced myself to look at the images coming out of the Gulf of Mexico. The dead dolphins, sea turtles, brown pelicans and other sea birds, all coated in oily brown muck. I saw the orange sheen of oil on the surface of the water, the balls of tar on the beaches, the desperation of people whose way of life is forever changed, the compassion of people working tirelessly to save what wildlife they can. With no real solution to stop the millions of gallons of toxic chemicals and oil erupting from the broken pipe each day, I wonder how long before even compassionate people burn out? What happens when hope dies?
That night I dreamed I was on a boat in an ocean of oil. All around me, dead fish and sea mammals floated in the brown sludge. I became aware of movement on the side of the boat, and saw a turtle, a dolphin, a wading bird and a seagull – all coated in oily brown. They seemed to try to communicate with me, imploring me with their eyes to help. Suddenly, from between them, a brilliant white bird flew up out of the water and into the sky. I knew that this bird, which somehow had not gotten coated in the oil, was a gift from the earth; a symbol of hope. I woke up from the dream with tears in my eyes and I knew I had to try to paint what I had seen.
“Hope Takes Flight” is based on that dream. This is not a "pretty" picture - my dream was not a "pretty" dream. It was full of despair, ugliness and feelings of hopelessness. But when the bird emerged from the water, I knew that there is hope, and I knew I had to help spread the word. Yes, there will be hard times ahead, for we have unleashed something like we have never seen before. But we must believe in the power of hope, and attach our energy to that hope. And believe that the dove will return with the olive branch.
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