I see the world as a collection of compositions, framed in rectangles of varying sizes.  Stand me on any spot in any part of the world, give me a camera, and I will find you a dozen images without moving from that spot. Beauty is everywhere, if you know how to look.  Maybe more appropriate: beauty is everywhere, if you are willing to look.  This scene has been in front of me as I take my morning crap for over a month now.  About a week ago, it occurred to me that it would make a nice image.  I could have got out my $5000 Sony and made a crisp, clean photograph.  Instead I took my cheap android and made this soft, dirty one, because it reminds me of a painter friend of mine, and the kind of images she sometimes makes. She can make, and has made, the interior of a random truck stop bathroom into a beautiful painting. My favorite thing about that particular painting of hers is the light over the farthest sink, which is the source of all the light in the painting.  You see it clearly, until you get up close, and then is simply isn’t there, just a smear of whitish paint. It is masterful.

I highly recommend her website: Inna Rohr Artist

Another dear friend of mine is an art therapist.  She and her business partner have a newsletter that I subscribe to. The latest talks about moments of positivity, and the ratio of positivity to negativity that one should strive for.  It occurs to me that finding positivity amidst the barrage of obligation, politics, difficulty, and stress of modern life is a skill akin to sitting on the toilet and noticing a beautiful composition in front of you. Acknowledging that positivity is like taking out your phone and snapping a picture. Translating that into a positive outlook on life is much more elusive and abstract, like making a smear of white paint into a lightbulb.