We are tramping through the vast and constantly changing
dunes along the coasts of our glorious Lake Michigan, Joel and I. I am company to the man with the camera. While
casting sand and small stones from my shoes, I listen to him exhalt the intricate dune flowers, or the patterns of wind lines
along the sand, the thrill of the trees on the dune horizon shadowing another impressive amber sunset. To these moments
I am humbly grateful to be his companion. The pictures come home to a small studio where the artist starts
his routine: a small pot of water heating for tea, a newly prepared canvas placed on the easel. He may choose
a bit of music that will soon be quieted in his mind by the intensity of the upcoming work. Colors he has been mulling
over are arranged on the palette. He glances at the picture reference from our wonderful walks. Brushes and palette
knives stand up right in their containers on the table near the easel as if alive hoping to be part of this fresh new view
flowing out of the artist like the sun pouring over the hills. Then he begins. Wide strokes of sky colors, dune
forms with small outline reminders of outcrops or pools or dune grasses. Joel calls this paint sketching. I leave
the room and the man to his work. I return to my desk and the space that inspires me, pictures of our children, small handcrafted pottery with pieces
of nature draped over the rims, shells, and Joel’s magnificent paintings: Third Coast Dune that swirls actively
with brilliant evening colors, Cattail Dance so full of texture you could hear the bees buzzing in the crowd, Hold
On – a blue texture painting of boats captured in ice at a west coast harbor in winter. Paintings that grasp the
sometimes breathless moments of being there. It is
when he comes out of the artist’s studio with a grand and textured expression of our dune walk that gives me pause.
Kissed by the Sun is a cluster of earthly colors patterned across the canvas while a golden orange cast flows down
through the painting. This one is mine. The children know that when I die they may do what they want with these comments
on our travels, but for now certain paintings, resting gently against the walls of our tiny home, will remain in this gallery.
I believe that the everyday prickles of life are made defenseless in this environment. The art of living
with this artist is recognizing and appreciating the link between the beauty of the Great Lakes and the unique interpretation
from the artist’s hand. Helene Ellis is a Michigan writer with credits in various literary journals. Joel is a Great Lakes artist www.joelellisart.com. | 
