Landscape of Virginia

Working is the way I earn the money to buy the food I need to feed myself. I often go to the grocery store weekly, actually I seem to often show up every Friday evenings when the place is pretty deserted and I can get what I want with the ease of an Olympic skater. It is their that I run into the matter of my memories provide me to draw when I open my pad. This drawing opposite is one of them. Someone asked me why do I draw and paint art that makes people uncomfortable? I actually stumbled when answering her. I had to struggle to tell her. I searched my thoughts and I wondered myself "why?" She said I should think about it. I did, boy did I. I tossed a bit thinking about it as I lay down to sleep that night. Sure I eventually rationalized an answer to it but it really wasn't until the next morning on my way to work when I really saw and knew why I create these really weird and sometimes bizarre caricatures on my canvases. Then I use my best tec...

The weather is changing. My fond cat is feeling better, not scratching her skin nearly as much with the air becoming damper now. She's not as dried out. I have a new canvas and I am wondering just whether to paint another caricature upon it or move on to something more timely to my life's current station. Nawww! I think I have the caricature that would be just right for it. I've been having a hard time not exerting myself. I'm under doctor's orders not to pick up anything with the weight that is more than my cat. That doesn't leave much. I didn't obey it yesterday and I got a lot done around here that I wasn't able to do because of the ongoing weather of cold cold cold air, snow, ice and just tough stuff. So last night I got the hurt that comes from not following doctors advice, not too much fun. I made a decision: I will follow his advice, pain isn't necessary in order to live a full life. And so I will have to paint slowly, ...

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...