The Shanty Boat Writer’s Workshop The Painting Page 1 of 2

The painting on the museum wall caught his eye as he was doing his surveying walk of

the room. He stopped and moved closer to about 3 feet from the painting. A watercolor,

landscape, 12”x18”, by George Penrose. The view was of a meadow that sloped down to

a small pond. A split rail fence separated the viewer from the meadow. A wooded area

served as a backdrop to the pond with a hilly region beyond. The painting was not

unusual but the detail was compelling.

He thought, “That is a nice landscape.”

The more intently he focused on the painting the more the muted sounds of people’s

voices become. Softer and softer until it was the rustle of a summer breeze. The air he

was breathing became lighter, fresher and now had an earthen meadow smell. He was

standing at the fence.

The view was now enlarged. To the right the fence followed a road downhill that gently

arched to the right. About a quarter of a mile down the road there was a small house.

From the small pond the wooded area toward the house became thicker and more like a

forest. To the left the road ascended about a mile and went over the top of the hill. The

creek that fed the pond, from the left, was now visible. It was the run off from a small

red mill with a paddle wheel, visible from our side. An overhead flume connected to a

collecting pond just beyond the mill fed the paddle wheel. The background to the left was

mountainous with snow-capped peaks.

“Now I see what Penrose saw” , he thought.

[the painting.doc] Julien Green 3/4/2009@22:43 A3/P3

The Shanty Boat Writer’s Workshop The Painting Page 2 of 2

He turned around to look behind where he was standing. There at the edge of the road

Penrose was painting the scene. He skipped several quick steps across the road, perhaps

to avoid being included in the painting, and observed Penrose.

The view was now softened. The bright clarity was gone. A mist now obscured the details

of the view. However, there in front of Penrose, the painting glowed. It still showed a

vivid brightly colored landscape.

He thought, “Now I see reality.”

He turned around and looked behind. There in the distance, beyond the mist, was The

Great Creator viewing the scene.

He thought, ”Now the Ultimate Reality sees me.”

[the painting.doc] Julien Green 3/4/2009@22:43 A3/P3