Sun Kissed

Sun Kissed - Self Portrait
 8x10 oil on canvas - available
 
Five hundred feet from home we begin the process of relaxing. Hands loosely gripping the handlebars I breathe in the scent of  wild garlic, an unfortunate bug hits the windshield reminding me that life is short. We make our way to one of our favorite back roads, humming along at a cool 45 miles an hour, I'm enchanted by the changing shadows across a hilly pastures on a cloudy day. The faint smell of a brush fire passes quickly, the dead skunk lingers for a few miles but is soon replaced with the scent of a backyard BBQ. We return a wave to a man tending the fire, and I notice the lazy bloodhound on the porch and a goat nibbling at the fence.

It saddens me that there are so many things we miss just in the process of getting from point A to point B while riding down the road in our little atmospherically controlled boxes. Most of the time we don't even interact with those riding with us, we choose to read, sleep ( my personal favorite) or become glued to our cell phones now they have become mini computers connecting us to everything, except real life. Making our way south, the sun starts to crisp our skin. Ah, sunscreen.... I knew we forgot something. The rumble of the engine soothes the spirit, coaxing us into another reality, one that engages us fully with our surroundings, with the moment. We pass another rider and casually give the low wave . Checking the mirrors, the road ahead and the mirrors again knowing your life depends on being alert. Downshift into a turn, trees line either side of the road, a smile emerges from deep within, and calm washes through me, this is my favorite part of the road I think, I don't want the ride to end. If you ask someone who rides a motorcycle , most often the destination is secondary. My goal is to live life one moment at a time, living with wonder, of what is around the other bend.



　

Sun Kissed - 8x10 oil on canvas

Self portrait from a reference photo of me in Eureka Springs after a long ride- I was sunburned and tired but never felt better.