One of the first trees I notice to turn colors each year are the birch trees in our neighborhood in Seattle. There is something so magical about that bright yellow against the light and deep blue of the early autumn sky. This work of Joy came to me as a clear vision in my mind’s eye. I could see the layers of yellow and gold, dashes of birch bark grey, and an ombre of navy to robin’s egg blue brush marks gently weaving in and out of each other. The vision of this painting also marked an important moment for me as an artist. As I began to paint it, I realized that these confetti brush marks have their roots in the two artists who have most influenced my work in the last few years—Alma W. Thomas and Yayoi Kusama. I saw that how I loved to pull the colors I see in the world around me and re-organize them in a joyful way on the canvas had roots in Thomas and Kusama. Thomas took the colors of the flowers in traffic circles around Washington DC and turned them into magnificent abstract marks of pure color. Kusama uses vibrant colors and patterns to provoke her audience out of their waking slumber and into a world abundant with love and connectedness. “Yellow Birch Leaves, Late Summer Sky” marks this special moment in time in The Joy Project, when I have fully embraced the meaning behind, influencers of, and visual vocabulary of my work. In some ways, it’s both the culmination of years of work and the starting point for the Joy that lies ahead—a paradox of its own. This work of Joy measures 24”x24” and serves to lift you up out of the depths of deep thought and into the Joy that comes with taking in the world around us—connecting with others while finding ourselves. While red maple leaves get a lot of good press, for me it is the warm yellows against blue skies and green leaves that feels most like hope in the passage of time and new beginnings. What milestone are you marking today? What new heights do you want to climb? What makes your heart skip a beat? The piece is on gallery-wrapped canvas with painted edges and comes wired and ready to hang, so you don’t need a frame.