The Most Beautiful Moment

Acrylic and oil stick on canvas.

30x30x0.50"

The title of this painting was inspired by part of a quote from a famous chef I respect. When I worked in the food industry as a line cook and sous chef, I looked up to him and often thought about this quote. Chef Alex Atala recalls a dream he had, where the creator showed him a flower and the life cycle of the flower. The seed becomes a plant, then a flower, then a fruit, then it drops off, and within it there's another seed... and the cycle starts again. It's a circle.

He asks the creator why the flower is being shown to him, and the voice says, "The flower is the moment that we live - the most beautiful moment of the circle. The most beautiful moment."

I think about this often, still even though I'm no longer in the food industry. This painting felt so intuitive to make, so beautiful, and it flowed out of me like it was natural... like it was part of my design. Part of the most beautiful moment.