New Ways of Communicating

Finding a different language in nature, music and intuitive connections.

When the music festival was over, we took a train to Monopoli, a town on the Adriatic Sea, in southern Italy. On my first morning there, I met a local painter, Gianni Comes. He sat on a small chair in the street as he worked, and my friend Taylor mentioned she wanted to buy a book of his paintings.

Later that day, we walked into his studio. It was covered with paintings inspired by Monopoli, from realistic depictions of the town’s port to more abstract clouds on a stormy day. Some of his work incorporated different materials like fishing nets, or even denim jeans. If you tilted a canvas a certain way in the light, it would have a completely different look and color to it.

He spoke no English, but I wanted so badly to express how much I loved his work. My friend Taylor, who speaks Italian, translated for us.

“He says he can see you are an artist. That you appreciate his art. He can see it in your eyes.”

I smiled. I thought about how much we can convey through a look, through our eyes, when speaking or language fails us.