“Seeing life’s challenges and beautiful things through His lens. A lens of gratefulness, optimism and love. Acknowledging the tougher seasons (darker colors), but allowing them only to be the contrasting colors to let the other things shine more brightly.”

This was the inspirational thought given as a brief. What an adventurous task! Once I read it, my mind swirled with possibilities, mapping out the steps to a colorful outcome that would work aesthetically, without shouting too much against the soft palette of the couple's interior decoration. Capturing spontaneity and the tender love between them while being cautious not to let it look superficial. I knew I had to go out of my comfort zone, applying unnatural colors, yet aiming to remain authentic to who they naturally are. This commission needed to speak about the intentional choice to live a colorful life. It meant that I also needed to be intentional with every artistic choice I made regarding its creation.

I felt awkwardly valiant when I brushed the first bright colors onto the canvas, but once I started, there came a satisfying intuitive flow. I felt motivated to include a king protea, as it was the primary flower on their wedding day, which symbolizes a beauty that stands out, embracing uniqueness and diversity, along with the courage to withstand and embrace inevitable circumstances. The color streaming down the petals came impromptu, representing a life-cup that overflows, while the circle spirals in the background adhere to the golden ratio, symbolizing divine proportion and the presence of God in their lives.