“The Last Three Seconds”

As I understand it, the Japanese enso finds its roots in a zen tradition that is an aid to meditation, an expression of enlightenment and a state of mind that is momentary yet profound. As a modern artistic practice, it is also sometimes filled or surrounded by an inscription or scene that hints at the artist’s intended meaning. It meshes well with Chinese “one breath” free style (xieyi) painting and as such, expresses the spontaneity and energy of a moment experienced in the mind of the artist. Recently, I painted ensos as an artistic relaxation exercise, and in the end, discovered several that needed further development with my brush. “The Last Three Seconds” or as I sometimes call it “my hospice piece” (lol), expresses my Christian hope — renewal and eternal life after death. The three consecutive seconds— the first moment, a plum tree blossoming in the final season, its disintigration in the middle second, and its transformation into a luxurious evergreen filling the transition moment. The inscription is the title— the last three seconds.