I cannot think of a time when I did not find clouds fascinating, as a kid I could spend hours finding images in them. Many lazy summer days were spent laying on the backyard lawn looking for a triceratops or a pirate ship. Today, I admit they still occupy hours of my imagination.
Now I am a bit more analytical about clouds, certainly more interested in their formation and pattern then what animal or thing I see in them. The type of cloud is important, I make an attempt to name them cumulus, stratus or cirrus. I feel that if the naturalistic observation is truthful, then it is easier to express what you see, think and feel about what is in front of you.
If I study the clouds with that intent - the personality of them tends to come forward. It’s funny how they can be like lead actors in a drama, for they set the mood and temperament. They can be broody or cheerful, dramatic or calm, the entire passing attitude of a day or painting can be changed by a cloud.
These particular clouds had a stillness and mesmerizing silence to them, their shadows moved across the lake in a medley of patterns like a liquid kaleidoscope. Time seemed to slow or even move backwards somehow, I became closer to that little boy laying in the lawn looking for a triceratops or a pirate ship.
"What amazes me about landscape, landscape recalls you
into a mindful mode of stillness, solitude, and silence where you can truly
receive time." - John O'Donohue
Silent Clouds – Floating Shadows, oil on board, 9 x 12
inches © jim serrett
Explore - Question - Learn - - Enjoy, Jim
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Pareidolia ( parr-i-doh-lee-ə) is a psychological phenomenon involving a stimulus (an image or a sound) wherein the mind perceives a familiar pattern of something where none actually exists
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