*ART* Catch a Falling Star … and Collect Wonder

*ART* Catch a Falling Star … and Collect Wonder

I started this painting the week before Christmas (2022) and finished it after New Years. In between, we all came down ill, including, sadly, our cancelled Christmas day, but in a way it was Christmas that inspired the idea of this fantastical little piece …

As Christmas approached I began to think about the childhood wonder that allows us to see the world differently, including all the magic of Christmas. We can still love Christmas as adults, but it’s never quite as other-worldly as it is in our childhood. I wanted to represent the idea of that childhood wonder and of seeing the world as it could be, not as it is.

I was going through examples of surreal art and photography and saw a close-up image of an umbrella floating on glass-like water so that it had a perfect reflection. It was photographed with the colours of twilight and all around drifted fairy lights, like little fireflies. (I wish I could find it again to show you.) Instantly I had an image in my head of the painting I did above: of an umbrella catching stars. And the words of the old song, “Catch a falling star” played in my head.

“Catch a falling star and put it in your pocket

Never let it fade away

Catch a falling star and put it in your pocket

Save it for a rainy day”

I just loved the idea of imagining an umbrella catching a downpour of stars for a “rainy day” or for a time the stars aren’t shining. I also loved the idea of the stars getting brighter and glowing inside the umbrella as they collected. “Never let it fade away.”

And so I painted “Catch a Falling Star.” It’s about capturing wonder and collecting beauty. It’s about the joy of childlike wonder and the magic of imagination. And it’s about catching the joy while it’s there, letting it build up within you so that you have joy stored for the times you can’t see the stars:-

“For when your troubles start multiplying
And they just might
It’s easy to forget them without trying
With just a pocketful of starlight”

Song: “Catch a Falling Star” sung by Perry Como

“Catch a Falling Star” will hopefully be coming as a print and probably some other products in 2023. It should be interesting to see how that one prints with its darker tones. Hopefully it will capture the magic of the original.

About the Author: Lisa Saul

Fiction writer · creative guide · lifelong storyteller … Lisa Saul writes in the quiet spaces between words and paint. For more than twenty years she has worked side by side with her sister Naomi — shaping novels, illustrations, notebooks, and the little studio world behind this blog. A lifelong maker, Lisa has moved through journalism, photography, editing, watercolour, and award-nominated fiction, always returning to the same thread: story. Whether she’s writing a novel, illustrating a notebook, or sharing a moment from her creative life, Lisa brings a thoughtful, honest voice shaped by imagination, experience, and a deep love of helping others grow creatively.