Kuwasili is Swahili for arrival.
My son’s friend took a trip to Africa with his father to climb Mount Kilimanjaro. What started as a casual hobby of hiking through state parks, led to this goal to achieve something bigger.
On his trip he took photos of the nature he encountered, which included several of the lilac breasted roller. A few years ago I painted my first bird, which happened to be a lilac breasted roller. I painted it for a project that would be my return to painting after a 10 year hiatus. Since then, I’ve associated the bird with my reignited passion for art and new found confidence in my ability to pick it up again after leaving my brushes behind for so long.
When he told me about the photos, I was immediately intrigued to see them and knew right away I would want to paint this bird again. Only this time it would be more personal that someone I knew had a real photo of it in the wild, and because I had grown such an emotional attachment to it. He agreed to let me use his photo, and I began my new creation.
His mother secretly reached out to me and asked me to paint the bird for her son as well, as a birthday present.
I knew I wanted to start with an abstract background to create an emotion. For my bird, I chose soft shades of pink and orange, not only to compliment the chest of the bird, but also because I find beauty and calm in those colors. My first painting of this bird was titled Unruffled, symbolizing the zone an artist reaches when we are deep in a project. Nothing can ruffle us once we’ve reached that point, our sights are set ahead and the path is clear to finish. For this painting, the simplicity of the background with a focus on just the bird arriving at her destination in the tree, is my ode to Unruffled and that expression of freedom. The “unruffled zone” is the freedom I experience as I let myself fly freely when creating, arriving at the end of the painting with more stability and confidence each time.
For the boy’s painting, I wanted to start with something more bold. This journey to Africa was an amazing feat for him. It was a coming of age journey. Without him needing to tell me, I knew this experience changed his direction, helped him find his place. The training and conditioning alone taught him what he was capable of. Anytime we push our limits we find new meaning, new growth and confidence. Particularly at such a young age, this experience would push him forward in so many ways. This trip showed him what he is capable of and the kind of man he would become. I could see his confidence that evening as he shared his story, and his excitement for life and accomplishment. He was more grounded in himself, ready for his next adventure.
I chose deeper shades of orange and yellow for him, in part to represent the burning skies of Africa, but also to reflect his excitement of this journey. The way the yellow sits under the bird is like the intensity of the African sun rising, but also shines on the bird, as the experience shined a new light on his life.
Kuwasili. He’s arrived within himself. He became more of a man through this experience. He has arrived at his goals, his aspirations, and his sights are now set high in the trees.
Kuwasili
Arrival. I’ve arrived at a new place in my artistic journey. Challenging myself to bring more realistic details into my paintings the way I would a sketch, arriving at a very different version of the bird than my first iteration. Learning to set myself free a little more each time there is a brush in my hand.
Arrival
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