Original oil painting by Colter May.
 
This piece has more to it than just time and paint. This past fall a friend of mine was killed after being hit by a car running a red light at an intersection while on his bike. Though we hadn’t been in touch for years I was rattled to hear of his death because in many ways our lives parallel each other. He was a father of young kids,a runner, and an art and math teacher. In many ways I realized what had happened to him could easily happen to me and that there is so much we can’t control.

The world felt heavy.

With all of this weighing on me I set off into the mountains to gather some references and enjoys what I could with the color that was blasting Utah. What started as an interdict three mile trip turned into a 10 mile push to reach the crest of a saddle at the top of the canyon.

On the climb I became crazed. Working to silence my mind and push my body up the mountain without really being able to shake what I was feeling. That is, until I made it to the top just in time to catch the light beginning to break into the canyon o the other side.

It was like reaching the top finally allowed me to let go of what I carried with me. I still have questions, but what I experienced helped me find a small sense of peace in his memory.

This painting is the view that I saw at the top.
In this I hope you can feel some of what I did that day.