This painting began with the view directly outside my studio window on the Columbia River—the view before me as I write. At its center is the green buoy I have watched through changing tides, weather, light, and seasons, always moving with the water while holding its place. It was through watching this buoy that Finding Buoyancy first began to take shape. Its steadiness does not come from resisting the currents, but from yielding to their movement while remaining anchored. It became a metaphor for navigating life: finding balance not by escaping change or the weight of what we carry, but by learning how to move with it and remain afloat.