A sense of wonder

I stayed late at school last night -- the last day before Reading Week
so a student could finish a paper. Luckily another prof doing a
Ph.D. in comparative mysticism visited me, and we had a great
conversation about religion, and belief, and Bill Maher's movie
Religilous. We talked about why people need religion, and I said
that even if people aren't religious, they can feel a sense of wonder
and awe at the magnificence of the natural world.

For an artist I think this sense of awe comes easily, unbidden.
In fact apparently our brains are wired differently -- so we
get into what this fellow was describing as a "trance" state just
by opening our eyes. This is a bit dangerous in traffic, but
it also means we see the whole picture -- a big part of safe
driving.

Detail of a portrait of my friend Josephine.
I've painted her many times,
and she's a superb model

The human face makes me feel that sense of spiritual connection
to all things. That's why I'm a portrait artist. Most parents
feel deeply moved looking at their child's newborn face,
and for portrait artists that feeling spreads out to include
most faces at every stage of life.

One beautiful baby

Have a appreciating-your-sense-of-wonder day.