Landscape of Virginia

A very beautiful morning to awaken to yesterday prompted me to get out my camera before the snow warmed and fell off all the foliage around my apartment. And so with a little snack of a breakfast in me I took it out and stepped out into the virgin snowfall around this little cottage to capture the morning with a snap of the shutter. And such is the result of my efforts.

It's been a great day with a short power outage. I think of that as a mere reminder of how much we count on power for our lives to work well and without discomfort. I could go on about all those countries where electrical power is not nearly as available as it is to us but I won't bother you with those tales. This is the biggest storm I think I've ever been in. It's beautiful and it gave me much time to work on a new painting here at home without interruption from outsiders. Only my cat provided me with a little distraction by entertaining me with her antics. She a charmer for sure. Anyway, I do enjoy people's comments on my paintings and other art as well. It keeps me honest and gives me the necessary push to continue down paths that I had since forgone. I'm glad about that because without a occasional nudge I think I would head down the road of complacency thereby loosing my own identity. Well, I'll post a photo from the beginn...

And down it came... .many had warned me about it and I took my warnings and I'm prepared but still...it is something else when it finally falls from the sky....all white small flakes and building up to be more and more. I know it hampers many activities but I do enjoy it so. I have been able to take the time to begin a rather large canvas. I had been putting it off, and the subject for it is something that I thought I would never venture into working on ever again. I live to eat some crow. I am doing another caricature painting of a grocery store scene and you know what....it's a lot of fun. I got out for a walk today as well as working on my new canvas. I walked out to go to a meeting but I ended up stopping in on a young woman who is running a gallery downtown. She and her buddies carry some of my work. I was in the area so I stopped in to see if they would be open for First Friday's tonight despite the snow, but no they won't be open for the ga...

It's cold outdoors but not I. Being an indoor day with some snow falling outside, I pick up my pen and ink for a second time today. An older drawing calls out for some more work to be done to it. After spending and hour or more on it, I am thinking I'm done for now. But after looking at it some more I can see where it needs a little more black coloring, and I'll get to it later on. In this drawing I am looking at a fantasy of caricatures in an American city of the viewer choice. The people are in a hurried situation with a woman on the side looking on at the men who seem oblivious of her, no point intended but I do think of her as kind of a seductive woman. I just see the men much as myself, just going on with my life not completely aware of all that is around me for the sake of getting by. The main character, who is the man in the middle, is quite rushed and he is missing the attention shown to him by her. I guess it's just life and all will live on ...

On A Snowy day, one takes the time to think of life. Is it all worth it, what am I doing? And other fundamentally important questions come to mind in one's quiet moments alone. I do just that with my pen and inks, I pose myself questions and put myself back into spots I've passed through making odd and sometime unexpected observations, such was the material from which this last pen and ink drawing came from today. I can ignore my life's journey's path or I can use it. I don't always hate my life nor do I always like my recent life's past, but I can pull drawing materials from it. And that is what I do whenever I am working on imaginary caricatures of these really weird people I dream up in my art. I have a good time making them and I put in a lot of blood , sweat, and tears into those ever so good ink spots. I'm really glad I can do them, because I know in many other countries I could face very real trouble for doing them. People don't...

It's quite surprising how many are getting away from helping others to a better way of life and thereby helping themselves into a better overall good. It seems like many are headed towards self-indulgence with little regards for the suffering. Today many are in need, homeless, hungry, in need of work and quite willing to work. But the Banks who were given funds to generate an upturn in our economy have taken that same money and seemingly only paid themselves bonuses. All they have to do is look right outside there windows to see where that same money should be going.

One morning where destiny is thought about seriously is tonight. Many reflect on what's been but I find myself planning for what can be ahead. Afterall, we can't do anything about the past but we can learn a great deal of how to work in our future from what has gone on in our past. So I find myself planning. What am I to paint? What am I to do if I loose my job because of budget shortfalls? What should I just keep doing because it's working for me? And maybe most of all "how can I be of service to the still suffering...." ? New Year's Eve, it didn't ever mean much to me when I was getting loaded. Now, it's become and interesting model for looking at my own history and moving on with it in mind. Our first decade of our new millennium, how unique the marking of time's passing is for me to witness. I didn't plan to be here, but I am thankful that I am.