This year’s sunflowers lasted until the last day of summer; autumn arrived with a sunny chilly fresh burst. This time last year, we were coming through a hot dry patch. In fact, in September of 2019 we were in what I learned was a flash drought. It’s one reason last...
Remember having to give book reports about what we read over the summer vacation? That always ruined the fun of just reading. Well, I have come to believe that writing about what I read helps me remember salient points that authors make – whether they are telling good...
Getting back to normal used to mean unpacking from a vacation; or, putting away Christmas decorations and heading into a new year. It was a bittersweet necessity. Now getting back to normal is almost an impossible dream. Returning to the way our life was mid-March...
A friend asked why I copy paintings. Well, happy as I am in our house, I am a wee bit tired of its vistas. I feel like I'm 16 again — gas is cheap and I'm grounded. ~Internet meme, April 2020 Also, if I set myself up outside, I might start to weed and dirty fingers...
Meeting people halfway isn’t always on my bucket list of places I want to go. But, if one of the most important trips in my life is meeting people halfway, what does that look like in today’s polarized environment? First, it might mean, going out of my way. I’ve been...
To date, I have finished 50 paintings, more or less. At least five more await completion. A few of these have been languishing years; three, a few months. Others, though, have moved to other homes! Trying to get these framed for a show would be . . . expensive. So,...
As each painting adventure begins, I have a little talk with myself. My subject – a painting or photograph -- by a favorite artist – is usually simple and colorful. I anticipate how it will be. But I have a little chat with myself. It’s not going to look like what I...
You know I love Matisse. His work has been a grand and gaudy inspiration, helping me build a pandemic portfolio. I adapted one work to express how I feel about COVID-19. That happy little goldfish, hopping out of the bowl, has no idea the speed her little life will...
Looking for an anchor point as we begin the ninth, (or is it the tenth ), week of social distancing, I rely on a Facebook friend who said it’s day 67. So, that’s an anchor point . . . whatever the week! How goes it with you? Doug and I are maintaining. We are...
Here are some anecdotal ruminations and links to writing about the upside down backward reality that today is. Living in the moment seems like common sense. In the midst of a chilly, rainy May, I noted the sky did not fall, as the federal social distancing guidelines...
We are beginning another new normal as the federal guidelines for social distancing expires . . . all of us will be beginning it whether we leave our homes or not. The worst part of the new normal is the anxiety that has made itself at home in my heart. My peers are...
Even though I keep a daily journal, I haven’t kept an accurate timeline for all my paintings. I know by March 9th, I had painted a Baltimore Oriole, and that after completing two owls. By then, the steroid had kicked in and so had COVID-19. (Prednisone and Proverbs)...
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