“Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.”

The idea for this exhibit birthed from years of delayed hopes and deferred dreams. Many of us have dreams our hearts ache for, prayers we’ve prayed more times than we can count, and hopes that remain unfulfilled. The Portuguese word “saudade”—meaning longing—implies a deep and powerful sense of yearning and desire. Sometimes the desires we live with feel stronger than we are. How can we endure them?

Each piece in this collection reflects on a different season of longing. Beauty can be found in each season, and the word I’ve come to at the end of it all is “delight.” We can choose lives full of delight, even as we wait for our dreams to come true. Delight in the colors of fall and the glistening white of winter. Delight in the first signs of spring and the dark greens of summer. Delight in the journey toward receiving and in the gift once it arrives. And lastly, where I have found great peace—delight in God, the Giver of all good things. His nature does not change, yet His beauty unfolds and deepens through every shifting season.

Why Painter’s Palettes?

To me, palettes represent the imperfect beauty of the process. They remind me to see beauty in the places I forget to look for it; to pause and behold the moment I inhabit. As you view the paintings below, I invite you to consider and reflect on the beauty that exists in your own story.