Painted On Canvas

My mom recently shared some music with me. That's one of my favorite things about my relationship with my mom - whether it be her sharing stylish clothes or slippers with me (Serena has absolutely inherited her sense of style and fashion), or the music she enjoys - she shares easily, and I am enriched by what she shares with me. She's very cool. I know I'm biased, but I think I have the best mom :). She's beautiful, creative and classy, her food and the cakes she bakes are beyond delicious, she has a big, infectious laugh, and she always smells good.

This music is by Gregory Porter. He's a jazz musician, and the first song she shared was On My Way to Harlem. That song, aside from how beautiful it is, is special to me, because both of my parents grew up in Harlem. As much as I enjoy my suburban life, one of my other favorite things was driving through Harlem on Greyhound back in the day, before I fell in love with the quiet car on Amtrak. There's something very special about Harlem.

When I came home after she shared that song with me, I created a Gregory Porter channel on Pandora, and discovered a few more of his songs. My new favorite is Painted On Canvas. Check out the lyrics:

We are like children
We're painted on canvases
Picking up shades as we go
We start off with gesso
brushed on by people we know
Watch your technique as you go
Step back and admire my view
Can I use the colors I choose?
Do I have some say what you use?
Can I get some greens and some blues?
We're made by the pigment of paint that is put upon
Our stories are told by our hues
Like Motley and Bearden
These masters of peace and light
Layers of color and time
Step back and admire my view
Can I use the colors I choose?
Do I have some say what you use?
Can I get some green with my blue?
We're just like children
We're painted on canvases . . .

I love this song. Not only do I want to be really cautious about who I allow to paint on my canvas and what colors they use, I want to be equally careful about what colors I paint on someone else's, and I want to remember to make sure I actually have permission to add to their canvases in the first place . . .