Gratitude is my signature piece- it embodies the very reason I paint, the emotion of gratitude I feel each day for my breath, for humanity, for art. My reason for painting is to use my gift to give back and remind others to give back using their own gifts.

 

Each morning in Udaipur, I would leave my room and see women standing in the water, facing East. The waters swirled with the colors of saris floating in the water and the sunrise reflecting orange, pink, and gold. I saw a state of grace as the colors mixed with the magical peace of morning prayers.

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In my studies of Buddhism, I have learned to say ‘thank you’ for my breath. I have learned to start every morning with gratitude. It surrounds the day and fills me with a completely different way of perceiving. I perceive from the heart, rather than from intellect. True wisdom is the intellect filtered through the heart. When I start every morning in ritual and gratitude, as inspired by my time in Udaipur, I stay centered in the heart, in connection to humanity, and in humility to the divine.