When artists choose their pigments we try to pick the most permanent colors possible, meaning the least likely to fade over time. Those colors that don't make the grade are called -fugitive-, from the Latin, fugitivus, which means to flee or run away.

Perhaps you have noticed printed posters that have been in a window for a while. They usually loose their reds and yellows first; leaving only faded blues and black.

In what may ultimately be a futile gesture, artists nevertheless choose permanent pigments like colors made from earth or iron oxide, for their creations, hoping they will be around a long time. Some paintings have survived beautifully for thousands of years, so why not try to make our expressions last?

As I paint the beautiful streets and flowers here in Florida, the thought is always somewhere in my mind that this one-time seabed, will once again become submerged. The lovely streets and houses, flowers and palms will disappear.

A wonderful balance of temperature, oxygen, geological stability and relatively stable government are the ingredients of this scenery. That can change at any time, especially true in light of recent terrorist attacks in Paris.

The world seems like a brutal place these days. Lives seem to mean nothing to terrorists and killers that are intent on ending civilization. The question often comes to mind, what is the role of Art in this frightening environment? Should we artists put down our brushes?

To me the answer is that artists need to paint even more. Musicians, dancers, writers, winemakers, chefs, we all need to keep at our job of making beauty. Our job is to remind the world of pleasures of sight, hearing, taste and movement any way we can.

Art is there to defy death, to counter hatred and small-mindedness and to lift up our hearts in wonder at this incredible gift we've been given; Life.

We are all fugitive in the end, but we don't have to fade to a washed out blue and black. We can, no, we must shine in the sunlight of nature, love and beauty. We must remind humanity of its humanity and its spirit for higher things. I once heard it said that it is much easier to destroy than to create something. It's easy to give into hatred and bigotry, -easy to shoot people, smash things and destroy the delicate structure that we call civilization. This is how civilizations end. But we can do so much better!

For my part, I will continue to dance my brush across the canvas until I can no longer do it.