One of my favourite authors, the Brazilian Paulo Coelho has written that "The power of storytelling is exactly this: To bridge the gaps where everything else has crumbled".
And this is where watercolourist Paul Caruana comes in with his exhibition called Good Vibrations at the National Museum of Fine Arts in Valletta. The show, which was inaugurated by Kate Gonzi on Friday, will be open Monday to Sunday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. and runs until July 6.
With his child-like charm and outstanding ability to paint the fantastic along with the seemingly mundane but magical moments that flash by our eyes in everyday life, the artist lures us into his world, enveloping us inside a cocoon of memories that cling like limpets to our subconscious mind.
He is daring us to leave our luggage behind and step onto his train of fantastic thoughts and reveries that leave us satiated and tranquil but at the same time energised to find more about what lies behind this artist's persona.
"I stopped exhibiting some nine years ago because I realised I was just running around looking but not seeing. I felt this great need to stop and breathe in the world around me. I experimented with different types of paper and techniques and above all, I let the little child in me run free.
"I experimented with colours in some of the paintings. No one sees a blue shadow, or an orange one. But if it worked, that's how I painted it," Mr Caruana said.
Have you ever seen a mermaid? Or your grandma flying?
No? But one of the watercolours shows a frail elderly fisherman seemingly enjoying a conversation with a voluptuous mermaid, as his wife (of whose arrival he is unaware) is rowing frantically trying to reach him to ask him to explain what this is all about!
And, yes, there is a grandma flying around the dome of a small church!
"I tell stories with pictures and part of the challenge is to involve the viewer. When someone views one of my works, I want that person to feel part of the experience and hopefully, make that person forget life's troubles for a few seconds.
"For me, that's the magic moment!"