Burnt Sienna, John Lyons (40 x 40 cm, oil on canvas)

The beauty of colour
of shade and hue
of darkness and light
an uncluttered space
across which the eye
may travel at leisure
take in the air and allow
the mind to wander
with a ripple of emotion

Into this space
a stake has been driven
a subtle ivory black
buried in the canvas
that remains to be
consummated

Almost anything
could occur at this moment
as other gestures as yet unseen
queue to enter the picture
and yet restraint is called for
so as not to overwhelm
this peaceful terrain with a mass
of unwarranted marks
There is still work to be done
but in art as in life as in love
more is often less and less
if often more so let’s wait
and see

John Lyons