The Phalaenopsis Orchid has a unique place in my heart. Mike bought me a corsage of these orchids for our first official date. That is one reason I wanted to paint them.
The other reason is backgrounds. In my compositions they have really challenged me. I tried, a few different times, to add them, but none were successful. With the help of an Anna Mason tutorial, I was finally able to add a background I genuinely like. It sure made these flowers pop and gave the composition an almost Asian feel.
We all want to do some things that make us stand out from the crowd. It is not about whether we are introverts of extroverts. It’s about highlighting something beautiful against the often-common background of our life.
In that way, our lives are like an artistic composition. The background is our everyday life. It is how we work and play. It is our personality, our experiences, and even our foibles. It is what we value and pay attention to. It is the choices we make, both big and small. All of those give our lives a background unique to each person.
Against that background, with all its shades of light and shadow, some notable things we do stand out in beautiful relief. They are not lost; they are highlighted, like these orchids, by God’s grace at work in us.
Can we pay special attention to our backgrounds? Let us endeavor to embrace and practice wise values. Let us cherish our relationships with good people. And let us discover how even our dark moments blend in. Then, often in surprising ways, our lives will provide a backdrop for something beautiful that all can see.