Tethered

I came upon this row boat as we were waiting to board a whale watching ship with our daughter and her little family in Washington State. Let me tell you, it was a beautiful boat, nothing like the metal rowboats we rented at the lake when I was a kid.

It was obviously tethered to the dock, so that it wouldn't float away...but it was also tethered so that it wouldn't crash into something else, chipping away at that beautiful finish.

I think "tethered" can have a negative feel to it...like a dog being tethered on a leash...but don't we tether a dog or perhaps a horse, to provide safety when needed?

I thought of painting in the same context. If you study with the intent to grow, you are tethered to the elements of painting. You're constantly bumping into line, form, value, color, texture and edges, so that when you have addressed all of those elements, you can finally sail freely to your next work with more vertical growth. You know you have finished a painting when you can say "I am at the end of my tether" or at the end of my strengths. And the painting is abandoned for the next. It may be finished or unfinished, but you once again tether yourself to those elements in hope that the next sail will be just a bit more easy and enjoyable.

Tethers to family, faith and community...all good. So why not name a beautiful painting..."Tethered." Happy January.