The Artist

My wife is an artist. It's a statement of fact - not opinion. Sometimes she doubts herself - sometimes she gets down on herself, and sometimes she doesn't know what to make of what it is she does.

I think all artists get that sometimes, simply because being an "artist" is so hard to define.

To me, an artist is someone who passionately faces the world every day, living in the good and the bad that daily life has to offer, and then makes art that describes how that person feels about life.

Casey's art is beautiful - it's positive - it's optimistic. It gathers all the bad we sometimes get and pushes it to the side, focusing on the "good stuff" and making sure we remember what's important. The colors she uses are bright and beautiful - awakening us to the amazing colors present in a sunset - in a tree at fall - in the glow that surrounds a couple in love. Her colors are not artificial -they are vibrant and alive.

The words she uses are inspirational. She reminds us of the power and the capability within each of us. She herself is a living example of what can be done - of talent and emotion coming alive.

Her message is one of hope, of love, of beauty - simply because she is herself all of these things and so much more.

I am sometimes drawn to deep thought - brooding thoughts on what the future might hold. But Casey's art brings me back home, makes me pause, and reminds me that even in the dark, there is beauty all around us... if only we look deep enough.