Garden Magic

By Hazel Holland

I painted this impressionistic watercolor using wet colored tissue paper and water soluble wax crayons.  Then I let the colors bleed into one another to create this whimsical effect.

As I thought about the process this artwork went through, I was reminded of another kind of bleeding.  At times our own hearts feel like they're bleeding.  When someone we are close to and love moves away, we feel like our hearts will break.

Instead of making a pretty picture with the bleeding colors of paint, our tears paint a picture of heartache on our faces.  We feel sad because we already miss the person we love.  Our tears run together with the mascara and our eyes get all puffy and swollen.  Not a pretty picture at all. 

But our hearts are far stronger than we imagine.  Although the picture we are creating is of tears instead of paint, it is far more beautiful than paint.  Our tear-stained faces are a living tableau of the love that we feel in our hearts for the person who is dear to us.  Our wonderful memories of them cannot be lost or erased by time because they are safely hidden in our hearts.

After our tears subside, we will realize that the person we love still loves us, and will miss us, too.  They have tears on their face as they hold us close to their heart.  Although our loving relationship with them will continue, it will be different because we will not see them as often.

But whenever we do get to spend time with them, we will notice that the love that we hold in our hearts for them has grown.  It has magically blossomed like a spring garden.  Our tears of sorrow have been replaced by tears of joy... along with lots of warm hugs.  Seeing their happiness brings us contentment and peace, because we now know the meaning of love.♥


To see a larger copy of this art print click here.