Canvas

One hot Saturday afternoon up on the north coast of Cornwall, while meandering through an art gallery with my wife, I stumbled upon a painting. Unlike me at the time, it seemed to pulse with energy. At first glance, the painting appeared chaotic—bold splashes of colour jostled for dominance, interspersed with jagged lines that crisscrossed and split the composition. It felt like a battle was taking place on the canvas. But as I stood there, disarray began to morph into clarity.

Every masterpiece begins with a single stroke of uncertainty. Brilliance doesn’t exist without contrast or fight.

In the chaos of conflicting ideas, certainly there’s more potential for innovation and originality. It takes wins and defeats to get into motion.

I realised that much like the painting; the best ideas often emerge not from orderly progression but from a burst of conflicting thoughts – within one’s own mind and others – colliding and fusing together.

Perhaps it was time to embrace unpredictability, allowing messy interlude to birth something extraordinary?

The moments that seem difficult or dark can often inform our creations or strategies in ways we don’t immediately see. Every setback carries a lesson, every failure, a path to success.

That painting on a blank canvas has reframed my perspective—what if I could view obstacles not as roadblocks but as creative twists, each offering a unique way to approach problems?

Then an idea started forming, then a plan, then the reality, then a detailed overview. Then I made a call, still standing in that gallery.

Now, every time I look at that painting hanging in my study, it serves as a constant reminder that innovation thrives in discord, purpose anchors our pursuits, and light can find a way through any darkness.

Art is not just a reflection of life; it can be a catalyst for the inspired strategies that propel us forward.

We can find our most powerful insights not in pristine plans, but in the raw, chaotic strokes of an unassuming painting.

To the Artist, who I’ll not embarrass by naming her here, chapeau and much gratitude. 

^{(The artwork chosen above is not the piece in question)}