Hiding the Sun

Kate Thayer’s painting is called Hiding the Sun, so I imagine the sun somewhere behind the trees, above the canopy, or just beyond the edge of the canvas. But the sun itself is nowhere to be seen - only its light, pouring through an opening in the forest, catching the trunks and branches, settling into the leaves and undergrowth, and spreading a golden glow across the path before me. Though hidden, its presence is everywhere, illuminating the way ahead without revealing where it might lead.

Trees rise on either side like silent sentries, guarding the passage while beckoning me onward - to explore; to embrace whatever waits beyond the light. Wildflowers line the trail, and high among the summer leaves, hidden birds serenade me with songs of freedom and flight - songs that seem to carry an understanding known only to those who dance through the sky, or who have learned to fly within their hearts.

The entire tableau draws me away from the ordinariness of my world and reminds me of the extraordinary that surrounds me. It asks me to slow down, breathe deeply, and behold creation differently. Through her hands, her brushes, and her imagination, the artist opens a passage into a place my eyes can enter, but only my heart can fully comprehend.

At this point in my life, I have traveled enough to know that none of us can see very far ahead. We move forward with only the light we are given. Sometimes it floods the path before us. Sometimes it slips through the branches in fragments, showing us only where to place the next step.

The painting offers no map and no assurance that the journey ahead will be smooth. It simply asks me to continue - to trust that perhaps all we are ever promised is not certainty or a clear view beyond the trees, but enough light to keep moving. I do not need to understand the entire journey, or know where it leads, to be grateful for the light of grace which illuminates my life.

As I study the painting, I imagine the beauty waiting inside that golden glow. Then I realize that perhaps I have already entered it. I am standing here in this gallery, a luminous sanctuary shaped by creative minds, talented hands, and hearts open to wonder.

Artists often labor quietly in solitary studios, perhaps never knowing where their creations will travel or what lives they might touch. A blank canvas, a formless lump of clay, or salvaged pieces of wood, paper, fabric, and metal become, in the artist’s hands, moments of magic for strangers. When a feeling stirs. A memory returns. Something once hidden is recognized. Through the artist’s vision, the familiar is revealed in a different light, and the stranger’s life becomes a little richer.

The painting is titled Hiding the Sun. For me, however, it is a revelation - a reminder to notice the light, trust what lies ahead, and remain open to beauty, seen and unseen.

The sun may be hidden, but its light is everywhere. For that, I am grateful - for the gift of art and for those who place their gifts in our path.