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  Two ships passing

  May 1, 2026

  What makes an impressionistic painting? A fleeting moment of open composition, (a first impression) of light and atmosphere through color, texture, and sensory experience, relating to how it makes one feel. Like two ships passing in the night, flashing their lights and blasting their horn, meeting and sharing a fleeting moment and sailing off. They exist in the same space for a brief moment.
  
  It’s not what we see, but Impressionist art is more about feeling and design. A stroke or two that captures the essence of the ship, rather than detailed realism. Light or dark tones to capture the mood.
  
  The background and underpainting carry the weight of these paintings. Lines and design applied on the surface tell what the subject is or could be. Looking closely, each painting carries shapes in the form of ships.
  
  Ship1, has the lightness of day and the horizonal lines hold the ship down in the water promising a fun day on the waters.
  
  Ship 2, the dark vertical lines in the top portion show a possible storm crashing down. The ship is rising up to meet the weather.
  
  "Ships that pass in the night" is a famous metaphor from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's 1873 poem "The Theologian's Tale: Elizabeth" (from Tales of a Wayside Inn). It describes brief, transient human encounters—a signal and a voice in darkness—representing people who meet momentarily before parting.
  
  That’s how these two paintings came about. A quick visit to see my friend in Clovis, New Mexico. Photos shown to me explaining how these two mix-medias were hanging in a law firm there and how they speak to their clients. When I saw the images, I said, “Oh that’s where those two paintings are. I forgot.”
  
  Ships that pass in the night, and speak to each other in passing, only a signal shown, and a distant voice in the darkness; So on the ocean of life, we pass and speak one to another, only a look and a voice, then darkness again and a silence. HWL
  
  There have been many ships I’ve passed, not catching a name, or where they came from or where they were going. But, they left a deep impression that changed my course of direction or gave me hope in the midst of the storm. They had no idea of the impact that I received from their words.

  
  Be inspired.

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