Swirling Star 36" x 48"

See more paintings from The Colors of Joy collection.

James Nowak’s Swirling Star extends the Colors of Joy Collection into a realm of cosmic metaphor. While other works in the collection—such as Summer Flowers or Gentle Circle—derive imagery from organic or earthly sources, this painting gestures toward the celestial. Its title evokes both astronomy and wonder, situating the canvas within the tradition of abstract works that invite viewers to look skyward, to see in swirling gestures the luminous presence of a star. Through color, gesture, and spatial rhythm, Nowak captures the paradox of stars: explosive brilliance contained within steady radiance.

The dominant color is blue—ranging from aquamarine to deep indigo—creating a vast, atmospheric field suggestive of sky or cosmos. Against this backdrop, bursts of yellow, red, and white punctuate the surface, evoking stellar explosions, glowing light, or refracted brilliance. Black strokes add depth and mystery, suggesting both shadow and infinite space.

The distribution of these colors mirrors the dual qualities of stars: their fiery intensity (red, yellow, orange) and their luminous endurance (white, pale yellow). The palette makes the viewer feel both grounded in the earthly sensation of color and lifted into the expansiveness of a night sky.

True to its title, the composition embodies a swirling motion. Brushstrokes curve, overlap, and intersect, creating vortices of energy across the canvas. Unlike the directional ascent of Rising Red or the linear thrusts of The Eagle Has Landed, Swirling Star embraces circularity, echoing both the rotational motion of galaxies and the radiant pulse of starlight.

This sense of movement is not chaotic but rhythmic. The eye is drawn to luminous centers, then carried outward into darker fields, much as a star emits light that radiates into the cosmos. The brushwork thus transforms color into energy, conveying the vitality and dynamism of stellar motion.

The star, in cultural and symbolic traditions, represents guidance, hope, and transcendence. By abstracting this form into color and motion, Nowak strips it of literal imagery but preserves its emotional resonance. The painting becomes less about representing a star and more about embodying the sensation of being in its presence—immersed in its swirling brilliance.

Emotionally, the piece conveys awe tempered by joy. Unlike the grounded harmony of Gentle Circle or the tender ascent of Softly Rising, Swirling Star communicates wonder: joy not only as human feeling but as cosmic experience. It invites viewers to situate themselves within something larger, to feel the vastness of joy as an expansive, universal force.

Within the larger collection, Swirling Star serves as a celestial counterpoint to the earthbound metaphors of flowers, circles, and rising motions. It broadens the scope of joy from personal and communal registers into the universal and cosmic. Joy here is not only the bloom of a garden or the rise of color but the radiance of a star—distant, eternal, yet deeply felt.

By linking abstraction with cosmic metaphor, Nowak emphasizes the universality of joy. Just as stars shine across galaxies, joy transcends boundaries, belonging not just to individuals or cultures but to humanity as a whole.

James Nowak’s Swirling Star is a powerful abstraction of cosmic energy and luminous presence. Through its vibrant palette of blues, yellows, and reds, and its swirling gestural motion, the painting captures both the brilliance and the mystery of a star.

As part of the Colors of Joy Collection, it expands the thematic arc, positioning joy not just as earthly celebration but as cosmic wonder. In Swirling Star, joy radiates outward, swirling endlessly like light in the universe—both intimate and infinite.