Bob Ross, perhaps America's most prolific artist, created more than 30,000 portraits over his long career in television through simple techniques, a narrow array of colors, and a gentle mannerism.

A similar approach to financial markets this summer, however, would be terribly difficult to replicate.

Stocks are flying off the shelves, bonds are warning of massive economic and inflation risks while simultaneously discounting Federal Reserve rate hikes, and volatility readings are at the lowest levels of the year despite myriad geopolitical risks.

Working from a baseline palette of market colors -- representing the powerful trajectory of company earnings, the underlying inflation concerns, a secretive Fed, and steady but simmering tensions in the Gulf -- has created a brilliant summer portrait for stocks.

But, like all good works of art, it leaves itself open to interpretation.

Record high indexes suggest ongoing momentum from the artificial-intelligence story that is finally translating into bottom-line earnings for the tech sector and profit margin improvements for the companies it's being sold to.

Decade-high bond yields, however, suggest dormant inflation risks that aren't being discounted through headline consumer price index readings.

Adding in the factors of rising debt and deficits, the former of which is likely to hit $40 trillion over the coming weeks, has resulted in the highest 30-year auction yield in a quarter of a century.

The U.S. war with Iran, meanwhile, has stoked global crude prices to nearly $90 a barrel, with futures prices suggesting elevated levels until the end of the year, as the White House pivots from "bombs and blockades" to "economic isolation" in its monthslong effort to pummel Tehran into submission.

So what's to make of this colorful yet confusing depiction of the financial markets? Like all good paintings, it kind of depends.

An equal-weighted index of the S&P 500, which strips out the influence of the biggest tech stocks, has gained around 1.2% over the past week, and has outpaced the benchmark since the beginning of May. That suggests a broadening of market leadership that should bode well for stocks heading into the final months of the year.

The S&P 500 has edged 0.4% higher this week and is now just 2.5% from the 8000-point mark, a tally Wall Street wasn't expecting until the end of the year.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite is essentially flat, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average is slipping 0.6%. Both are within touching distance of their all-time highs.

The economy, however, isn't looking that great: Around 23,000 jobs were lost last month, retail sales plunged 0.6%, and consumer sentiment remains well below last year's levels.

And big autumn risks continue to linger.

The Fed meets in September, but markets aren't sure how it's going to react given new Chairman Kevin Warsh's policy of rate guidance omerta. Odds of a hike have plunged, but investors still aren't sure how the central bank will square the bond market's concerns with monetary reality.

The midterm election cycle will also kick into gear, with polls suggesting an increasing chance that Democrats will retake control of the House and possibly the Senate.

That could result in both policy inertia and a renewed focus on impeachment proceedings against a president who is said to have earned more than $2 billion while in office last year .

And the war with Iran, of course, could deepen, sending crude prices higher, gas prices nearer to $5 a gallon, and consumer optimism somewhere down near the bottom of the Strait of Hormuz.

Ross used to soothe viewers of his famous PBS show, The Joy of Painting, with a classic artist's aphorism: "You need the dark in order to show the light."

Right now, Wall Street is bathing in light, with a gathering bit of dark seeping in around the edges.

Let's see what shows up on the canvas when we're all back from summer vacation.