I went swimming in the sun and met a lizard

One of my investment purchases this year was a fancy white beach chair that goes completely flat (the old ladies on the beach in my retirement town are low-key jealous). I haven't been able to use it as much as I'd like, between my job, my art practice, and being a professional daydreamer, I've been pretty # locked in and pressed for time. But during the last week of November, I forced myself to take a morning off and go swimming before it got too cold.

While I was swimming, I noticed a tiny baby lizard perched on the pool filter, as if it were stranded on an island. I rescued it and gently placed it on solid ground in the sun to dry off (don't worry, I checked that he was alive). I laid out my beach chair beside it, and we sunbathed together. Sitting there in silence, I was able to tune into the sounds of the natural world around me and felt calm for the first time in months. I looked into the sun, closed my eyes, and amid the flashes of light, I visualized my surroundings floating with me in the water. When I felt like I was on the verge of a sunburn, I got up, and the lizard departed at the same time. I think he understood what I was feeling and needed that moment too.

I spend so much time chasing the sense of satisfaction I've been taught comes from productivity that I forget peace doesn't depend on progress. It can be found in simply being, like sitting in the sun, in silence.

If the colors in this painting seem more saturated than usual, it's because I got myself a new Japanese gouache set as an early birthday present. Before this, I was working with only six colors and mixing all my shades by hand. This new set is much richer, with colors that feel potent and smooth. I think gouache on paper might be my new favorite medium. After painting the base of the composition in gouache, I went in with colored pencil to add a fragmented aura to each element. I wanted them to feel as though they emerged from a celestial vision or a daydream, because in a way, they did.

 The original is 18x24" in size and was created using gouache and color pencil.