As I stood in the art museum with the creaking of old floorboards beneath my feet and the smell of canvas in the air, I lose myself in Wisteria by John Salhus. He portrays a wild waterfall of colors that rush over wooden boards. Reminding me of Alice in Wonderland how it's crazy and eccentric. Calming the painting are wisteria flowers floating in the back.

My eyes are drawn to the whirlpool of paint. It's unlike any other, with it's swirls of soothing orange, vibrant pink, loving red, and tender green. Masking the lively color is a streak of stern white. Hiding the creativeness underneath.
        

Beneath the waterfall standing loyal are wooden planks. John Salhus paints them like I’m able feel every knot in the splintering wood on my bare hands. Upon closer observation the artist uses more yellows, blues, greys, and greens then brown. Which is odd seeming how little brown the artist used in the painting. When I step back the vibrant colors suppress each other letting me able to see the brown.

The back of the painting is calm like the starting bars of Pachelbel Cannon. It's not loud or crazy, it invites one in like a warm hug. At the bottom of the painting are streaks of orange and yellow mixed with dark and light green. Floating up the sweet smell of wisteria comes to life. Giving the painting a sense of serenity. I imagine the wisteria calms the wild waterfall like a mother soothes a crying child.

The painting brings back a delightful memory of Alice in Wonderland. In the movie and book everything has it's own quirk. Such as the Queen of Hearts large head, the Cheshire cat changes into different objects or even disappears, the Mad Hatter being mad, but everything appears normal in Wonderland. The painting creates a sense of bizarreness that when put together make sense. The waterfall drapes over the wood like a blanket. The wooden planks hold up the waterfall like rocks guiding the water over the edge. The lilacs float in the background like clouds on a warm summer day. Such objects don’t configure in the real world, but in the painting they fit together like a key in a lock.

The craziness within the waterfall reminds me of how my life can feel. How it whirls around me and I feel no matter how hard I try I won't be able to slow it down. The waterfall will wash me downstream and forget about me. Although the craziness surrounds me like the night, I mask my inner feelings. Being careful for others not to see when I'm feeling down or overwhelmed. Ever since I was young I've felt like I've had to be the strong one. I've had to be tough through the bad times to keep everyone around my afloat.

The waterfall of wonder. We will never know it's thoughts, but it will always know ours.