Nostalgia

‘Cause in my head,

There’s a Greyhound station,

Where I send my thoughts to far-off destinations,

So they may have a chance of finding a place,

Where they are far more suited than here.

These are lines from the song “Soul meets body” by Death Cab for Cutie.

Needless to say, I find inspirations from just anywhere and I hope it stays that way.

For these lines I thought about what would be the right imagery. I looked at photos of vintage buses, actual greyhound bus-stations, winding roads, etc. Should I paint a “noir” scene with neon lights, or a sunset, or a winding road around the hills.

If I paint a night scene should it convey a dark emotion or feeling of being lost? resignation? Nope I don’t want to evoke a sense of brood. If I paint Swiss Alps or Alaska, it would look like a tourism brochure.

“Nostalgia” – that’s emotion I wanted and hence went with a sunrise in a small town. For me it can be a sunrise in Portales, New Mexico or the road from Nasik to Ojhar. Both places have fond memories attached and that’s where my thoughts sometimes drift too when I want a break from all the hustle of city life.