Susan Jean Diehl
Waking Up
Oil on Wood Panel
11" x 14"

What is it that pulls us into a scene, that makes our pulse march a little quicker, sends a tremor running up our spine, and heightens the awareness of our senses. Breathing in the sounds, and the smells, tasting the colors, all compel us and touch a cord in our perception of that moment. What caused us to stop at this spot to paint was a fleeting moment, so insignificant in time as to wonder if it ever really existed, yet it possessed the qualities that one can remember it forever, access the moment years far away. This moment is as fresh in my mind as if it were replaying itself over and over. I almost don't want to tell you what it made me feel, as your experience of it will be different... and yours. But mine was archetypal, the sun was just peeking its head over the top of the woods and would light up the stage, as if the yellow pink light existed just to show this one particular motif in its best possible way. . It reminded me of all the mornings of the universe, waking up, a part of our universal lexicon, a new day, bringing the chance for righting wrongs, standing tall, being of value to yourself and others. All that said, my only purpose in painting it is to give you, the viewer a place to remember your moments in time.