Week 154

Deep in a Texas winter, we returned to our studio after an invigorating scooter ride with our children. Our cheeks were still pinched with cold, and their tiny warm kisses lingered as we left their bedroom to begin our next piece.

Laert enveloped my two cold hands between his, recalling the warmth of the desert air on our last trip through Arizona and the Saguaro National Park. We started with a living underpainting of burnt umber, thin and vibrant.

Sometimes when we paint, we go somewhere else. I couldn’t tell you where. Maybe inside the work itself. Sometimes it just happens for one of us, sometimes both of us, and sometimes we slip in and out of that place between worlds. It is a natural transfixation of our craft and deep focus. The most unusual thing is doing it together and with an instinctive understanding of what is occurring for your partner when one moment before you were both in lighthearted conversation.

Our brushes clack together energetically and break us from our reverie. “Cheers!” It has become our habit to say. Standing back, the heat vibrates from the canvas, and we realize how warm we are. Our cheeks are glowing as we begin to clean our brushes, thick with a myriad of color. The energy between the cactus, our hands, and hearts has locked out the chilling winter outside. - K