Sunlight is painting.

Nathaniel Hawthorne, the master of shadows and light, once declared with poetic brevity: “Sunlight is painting.” In these words lies not only the voice of a writer who saw the world with piercing clarity, but also the wisdom of one who understood the artistry of nature itself. For what is the work of the brush compared to the daily miracle of the sun, casting its rays upon earth and sky, coloring all things in hues that no human hand can fully capture?

O listener, imagine the dawn. As the sunlight spreads across the horizon, it does not merely illuminate—it transforms. The gray of night becomes gold, the waters blaze with fire, the trees glow as though clothed in emerald. This is not mere light; this is the painter’s hand upon the canvas of the world. And when evening comes, the same sunlight withdraws in shades of amber, crimson, and violet, leaving behind a masterpiece that vanishes even as it is made. Hawthorne, with a heart attuned to the subtleties of nature, recognized that every moment of light is art, and every glance we cast upon the world is a gallery of infinite paintings.

The origin of his words is rooted in his life as an observer of both nature and humanity. Living in New England, he often walked in forests and along the sea, where shifting sunlight played upon leaves, rocks, and waves. To him, it was clear that the divine had given mankind not only the power of imagination but also a constant reminder of beauty in the very structure of creation. He saw that while human painters strive for perfection, nature, with one stroke of sunlight, achieves it effortlessly, endlessly, and anew each day.

Consider also how this truth appears in history. The Impressionist painters of France—Monet, Renoir, Pissarro—spent their lives chasing the play of sunlight upon haystacks, rivers, and gardens. They knew what Hawthorne had named: that sunlight itself is the truest painting, and their art was but an attempt to follow it. Monet’s lilies, shimmering with reflected light, are not merely flowers; they are homages to the divine painter that is the sun. Thus, Hawthorne’s simple phrase contains within it the very essence of an artistic revolution that came decades after his own words.

There is also a deeper wisdom here: sunlight is more than beauty, it is revelation. It uncovers what is hidden, it warms what is cold, it brings life to what would wither in darkness. To call it painting is to recognize that beauty itself is not optional in life—it is vital. Just as crops cannot grow without light, so too the human soul cannot flourish without color, without the joy of beauty, without the vision that the sunlight grants. Hawthorne’s phrase reminds us that beauty is woven into the very fabric of existence, not as a luxury, but as a necessity.

The lesson, then, is this: open your eyes to the paintings already around you. Do not wait to stand in galleries to marvel at art; look instead to the morning sky, to the way sunlight filters through leaves, to the dance of light upon water. These are the masterpieces of eternity, freely given to all. To see them is to be reminded that life, even in its trials, is suffused with beauty that can restore, inspire, and heal.

Therefore, children of tomorrow, let Hawthorne’s words guide you: seek the sunlight, and let it teach you to see. Learn from its colors the lesson of impermanence—that beauty may last but a moment, yet in that moment it is eternal. Learn from its warmth the lesson of generosity—that what is freely given sustains the world. And learn from its endless variety the lesson of creativity—that there is always another way to see, another way to live, another way to love.

For in the end, “Sunlight is painting” is more than a metaphor—it is a truth. Every day, the world is painted anew, and every soul has the choice to behold it or to pass by blind. Choose to see, to marvel, and to let the artistry of the sun awaken in you the courage to create, to love, and to live with eyes wide open.