This piece was inspired by a cherished daily ritual, what I refer to as ‘joy spotting’. It’s an intentional practice of looking for, and finding a moment, however brief, that fills me with joy. It could be as fleeting as the reflection of light on a bedroom wall, the shimmer of sea sparkle across the ocean, or a field of wildflowers dancing in the wind. Often, what makes these moments even more special is that they are unexpected and brief. A favourite, is that moment when a tiny bird flits into view, lands on a tall blade of grass, and for a brief moment offers the world its most spectacular song and is gone. Donna Ashworth’s poem Joy comes back, offers her view.
“When you finally realize that joy is less fireworks more firefly, less orchestra more birdsong she will come back much more often, for joy will not fight with the fast pace of this life, she is not in the shiny or the new, she breathes in the basic, simmers in the simple and dances in the daily to and fro…”

Acrylic and ink on canvas