It goes three ways, all at the same time. A creative person thrives on certain flavors of positive feedback. We find some critical comments to be valuable for correction. And we don’t care. All of these at once.

Here’s a painting about which I’ve never heard a word of commentary, leading me to believe that I alone regard it well. It may be the most obscure of my recent works and ever remain so but it is very moving to me.

My daughter went to college, met her excellent match, and married. Shortly before they left school I painted this. It commemorates that all the preparation for their new lives had ended, now replaced with the life that all those years led to. They were walking away from childhood, from singledom, from the snow, and from their prior roots. They’d become adults in every positive sense of the word.

They headed for Texas heat and their story continues to inspire and please me.