This scene is as much painting as it is a photograph. It is a scene I’ve longed for but never found. Finally, I allowed my creativity to rend reality. Edge of Solace is an idea I’ve carried with me for a long time but I feel that it was Seattle and the Northwest that gave me the inspiration and the building blocks to bring it to life. All the elements in Edge of Solace were captured in Seattle and Mercer Island making it a true work of the Pacific Northwest and a statement about my time here.
As I strive to visualize and create this idea of Comfortable Isolation I find myself drawn to water and what it represents: renewal, neutrality, energy. In psychology, the ego is referred to as a pool of energy found in the mind. Too often, I visit my ego when it is roiling, dry, or as hard as ice. In my meditations I imagine myself on the shore of my ego and I will it to be vast. The Edge of Solace is a my reminder to self to visit here often, to meditate on my experiences, to check-in with my feelings, and to keep this place vibrant and full.