I've always thought our water cycle evoked the idea of reincarnation: rain suggests birth; running water becomes the river of life; and evaporation and clouds represent passages and transformations to higher plains... to begin the cycle anew.

The background in "Leavetaking", one of the paintings in my "Passage" series, hints at the sea, but the greatest activity is in the clouds. The flow of the cape behind the figure suggests the drawing of water back into the sea.

- Michael Whelan