Inspiration permeates the ether

Let's lean into what we share, not what differentiates us

Last night, after the afternoon rain gave us a respite from the heat, we went downtown for some dinner, art-seeking and rooftop drinks. We were rewarded on all fronts. On NoMI’s rooftop, you can get a cappuccino—or even a foamy cocktail—with any image you want on it.

There is an artist we’ve gotten to know whose birthname is Christian, and we’ve been buying art from him for at least four years. He works in an abstracted style, primarily on paper, but now he’s moved on to unstretched canvas. We found him selling his art and of course stopped to chat and buy a piece from him.

Below is the piece we bought. We selected this particular painting because we found the realistic animated tree on the right-side to add something unusual to the piece.

However, what really struck me, when we first saw Christian—before we spoke to him last night—was how the piece he was offering for sale felt so familiar.

It immediately made me think of rugs and wallpaper that I’ve seen in the past couple of years that feature Tibetan tigers. Kind of uncanny, isn’t it?

There is something about design, art, and inspiration that seems to permeate the ether and pull all of humankind in a particular direction, one toward what we share, rather than what differentiates us.