18x24, watercolor, "COA (Course of Action) 6"

Someone once told me that the first thought we have about a situation or person is who we use to be, the second thought is who we are, and the third thought is who we want to be.

Last fall I was sitting outside the library and I saw a man flying down the road on his bike with a bunch of balloons tied to the back. He was doing at least 15 over the speed limit and the balloons almost looked like they were chasing him. My first thought was, 'what the (fill in age appropriate expletive)?!?!?!?!"

My second thought was, 'How did he get to this point?" How many things had to go wrong that taking balloons via motorcycle was the only option left. That's where the name of this painting came from COA (Course of Action) 6. In that moment I could think of at least five other ways to transport balloons to their destination (car, carrier service, etc).

My third thought, that didn't occur to me until I was actually working on this painting was, 'Someone is really lucky to have a person that cares about them this much'. I can't imagine anyone's first reaction for balloon transport is via motorcycle, but whoever needed those balloons got them. How lucky is that person to have someone who loves them enough to do this? How lucky was I to be part of that moment, if even as a spectator?

This is all guessing, and daydreaming for lack of a better word, but this moment was burned into my mind due to the strangeness of it, as well as how I was feeling at that time.

I hope you enjoy this painting and let me know your thoughts in the comments.

Denise