Cardinals in the Snow

What do you notice first about this painting of Joni’s? Do you see the bright red birds or did you first look at all of that snow? There is a lot of white space in this painting. More than half of the painting is just plain white snow! Do you think Joni was being lazy in not painting more colors there? Nope! That’s not it at all. Joni wanted to give lots of room for the cardinals (the birds) to fly. Of course they aren’t actually going to fly around in the painting, but with the white space, it is easier for us to imagine that the birds will do lots of flying. If you are not sure about that, try and find the bird up in the trees. Do you see it up in the corner? Even though Joni painted that bird with its wings open, does it look as free to move as the other birds? Sometimes white space has a very important place! Waiting for something can be like a white space in a painting. We can think there is no good reason for the empty space while we wait, but if we could step back and see why God is leaving it empty, we wouldn’t wonder anymore!

–Joni Eareckson Tada