The Profitable Wind of Change

Night, a black velvet ground, gold going off across it in flashes. A 100 × 100 square, off canvas, bronze framing, gloss in places.

The waves are alive, with foam and character. I did not make them stormy: the force here lifts, it does not wreck.

Ships in the distance. They are coming closer, and they have no sails.

That is the whole point. They need no outside wind, they are already in the current.

I kept the black saturated, nearly soundless. Against a ground like that, gold reads as a signal you would struggle to miss.

Light changes it. Under a lamp the gold comes forward; in daylight it sinks into the depth, so morning and evening give two different works.

Change sometimes arrives loudly, and sometimes it is felt first as wind. Here the movement has started and it is still quiet around it.

“The Profitable Wind of Change” is nearly a promise. When movement appears inside, the outside world starts answering.

Judging by the distance, those ships arrive some other day. Hang it behind a desk.