Beacon Of Hope

https://sites.ualberta.ca/~mhirji/water.html

Anybody who has read my stories would know I have a complicated relationship with my family. I have not seen any one of them for almost four years, however not a day goes by when I don't think of them. Above is a link to my talented dad's art page. Under watercolor in the water section is a painting called Beacon of Hope. That painting speaks to me. I feel I am the one in the water, with only my head above. I feel so overwhelmed by life, overstimulation, the lack of empathy-you name it. Yet there is no denying that someone out there is looking to save me.

This painting was in no way inspired by what it inspires me to feel and see. Like a chef and his food, the product the artist makes is perceived differently by everyone. My dad would seek inspiration by going to the lake, to other art shows, and by his actual profession-Medicine. While I can not paint or draw-a stick figure is about all I can do, I use words to convey an image. Words are my choice for healing.

Back to the painting, there are rocks scattered near a cliff. The water is precarious and anybody who dares jump in has a high chance of drowning. That leads into how mental illness is. It is not an easy thing to live with and its history is quite unforgiving. People in the past were isolated and left to die. However this painting shows how society has progressed by adding rocks a person can grab onto. It gives us hope that supports are in place and one day, somebody out there will help you. The cliff is symbolic as we have to strive to climb that cliff. The cliff is our purpose in life, one that some never achieve. The theme of the painting is of course about life in general on how some of us have to cling to hope. And yes, hope is out there-we just need to look for it.

The other aspect of this painting is the simplicity and how poetic that is in itself. Often many try so hard to be provocative and use vocabulary that some do not understand, or try to use visuals that overstimulate the mind. The whole simplicity of the piece of art work is having water, rocks and a cliff. You can look at it from so many angles. The rocks can hinder a person who may be on a vessel travelling in these treacherous waters, they may help a person who is fishing, and in my view, be the supports that can give leverage to keep holding on to the ray of hope. The simplicity of the painting can also get a person to understand even on Vocal, sometimes the most simple stories can be top stories.

The last aspect I wish to speak about is the use of watercolors. Watercolor is often avoided due to the fact it is harder than oil or acrylic to give the much needed pizazz that artists strive for. It does give a nice still picture but it is the artist and the viewers imagination that give it its voice. This artist medium is used for still life art. This art is in my opinion not as dazzling to look at, but as I have an avid imagination, my mind is what gives it more value.

As the painting is on the website I could not post it as a profile picture. The painting is on the link I typed at the top and the credit goes to my dad-Mohamed Hirji whom I love with all my heart.