the conversation

Cinque Terre, Italy

today I wandered into a little art studio and was amazed as I stumbled on a painting that may very well be the one that will leave the greatest impact on me of all that I have seen so far in Europe.

It was titled "conversacione" which I roughly translated to "conversation".
To me this painting was the most accurate dipiction of God I have yet to see using paint and canvas. I won't try to describe what it looked like, because that one feat of good art; it goes beyond the limitedness of words. But I will tell you the impact it left on me.

It was
God in community.
God in creation.
God in conversation.
Full of life-giving existence
Visible yet beyond comprehension.
God in triune community
Intimately linked yet
Distinctly recognizable

I stood and admired it for a moment, regretfully realizing I could not possibly transport it with me for another three weeks, and due to the unreliable Italian postal service I would not be willing to risk shipping it home. Then the artist, herself, approached me. I told her how much I loved it and she told me a bit about the process involved. It was astounding. She bases all her work off of shapes and forms found in nature, and this one happened to be the third in a series of three paintings depciting human life.

I- The birth of two separate individuals II- the encounter between the two humans III - The conversation - the ability to communicate and take something abstract and make it concrete. I loved it!

The abstract into the concrete, isn't that what art is all about?