Sometimes it is hard to find your passion or even inspiration, maybe you have found it but have yet to recognize it although it has been there all along. Inspiration comes in many forms: a color pallet, music or the sound of something, a person or group of people, a fleeting thought, an ideal or belief, the change of seasons, a class or co-worker.  Some people find inspiration in their cherished religious texts or in trite sentiments posted on Facebook or Pintrest. Whatever it is and wherever it originates seize it ...dare I say embrace it! 

  This is a photo of a painting by my great uncle Mario Larrinaga, actually this is a photo of a painting of a sculpture, I have never seen the actual sculpture although I would love to know more about it and know where it is.  Growing up I saw this painting several times a month when we would visit my grandmother; as a child I didn't get the point of the painting and I didn't like the colors.  Green and gold?  And-oh-by-the-way it wasn't even a painting of something real like the ocean or trees.  No, as a young child I found this painting to be utterly pointless and a waste of precious wall space. Funny thing is though...I found myself looking at it all the time.  I still do.  

  When my grandmother passed away I flew from Hawaii, where we were stationed, to LA with my 6 month old son in tow.  We stayed with my father and attended the memorial service and I also was able to see cousins that I rarely have the chance to see.  My dad was a tense mess but we needed to head to grandma's "coach" (aka a rather nice double-wide in an upscale retirement community in Camarillo, CA) to sort through some things.  It was then that my dad asked me if I wanted anything of hers.  "Hmmm...I hadn't thought about it to tell you the truth, but I guess I would like the green painting."  The look of shock on my fathers face...really, all I wanted was the green painting? He said no one else did so I could have it, he would have it shipped to me in the next few weeks.

  When the painting arrived I was actually excited, the green painting was now mine and would grace our home from that point forward. I thought long and hard about where it would hang.  I even purchased a light to shine up from the floor which accented the shadows in it. When people came over someone was always sure to comment...they either loved it or hated it. Most people at first didn't care for it but would grow to love it.  I even had a few people ask if I would sell it, my answer was always the same, "Never!"  

  My father came out to visit us twice in the 3 years we lived on the remote little base on Oahu, far from Pearl Harbor and well off the beaten path.  The last time he came out he told me that he was going to send  me one of Uncle Maury's Hawaii paintings for my birthday; I knew exactly which one he meant, it was of a storm blowing in on the island of Kauai.  I loved that one, there was no question about it.  Unfortunately he died before he could mail it, ironically he died of the same type of tumor that almost took my life five years later.  It is because of that connection to my father and to Hawaii that painting has great meaning to me to this day.

Even now I find inspiration and delight  from both of these paintings and some days catch myself just looking at them, studying them. They bring to mind wonderful memories but also fill me with inspiration and ideas about color, light and shadow.  They are a part of our family, and will forever remain in our family not because of some arbitrary monetary value but because they are a part of who we are.  I love to see my various cousins homes because they have other paintings created by our favorite great-uncle-by-marriage... and I love to see how they are on display.  I believe that our whole family finds inspiration and even a sense of enchantment in these paintings, the play on light and shadow has a way of drawing a person into the scene.

  What inspires you?  What brings you joy or evokes vivid memories?  Embrace it...cherish it...hang it on your wall.  But no matter what don't sell it or give it away...keep it for yourself, nurture it until it blooms anew!