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The Way Things Grow - Plants and Paintings
The sky is cloudy, the air is damp, and perhaps smoky from the Oregon fires. This is no time to be painting. At 10 A.M., I am outside on the deck with my Bialetti Moka pot of Ruta Maya coffee, just listening and watching. The birds' conversations are ongoing as always, but today, a first. The hummingbird is collecting nectar from the arugula that I let bolt. Arugula (aka rocket) has a beautiful flower stalk and I do like stalky flowers. From now on, I'll enjoy arugula as much for the flowers and hummingbirds as for the salad greens.
Conversations Across Time: Early Work
Seeing chives greening up and buds getting ready to leaf out has me thinking about past springs, when I first came to Maine, and that spring after I moved from Belfast to Lincolnville. Time -- as they say -- marches on, and since it's been more than 30 years that I first walked Lincolnville Beach and really doubled down on painting, I've decided to devote this newsletter to a look at where I was back then, as well as what I think about now when I start a new painting.
Sketchbook: The Live Oaks in South Carolina
As I drove from the Savannah airport up to Beaufort, South Carolina, my first impression of the Low Country was that though it's coastal, it is the opposite of Midcoast Maine. So while I was painting and drawing, I thought a lot about sustainability and creativity.
Looking Out, Looking Down
January was definitely a month when, like the Roman deity Janus, I looked in two directions, out and down. Two weeks ago, as I prepared my Pecha Kucha presentation for the January event at the Rockport Opera House, the idea popped into my head that I'm a sort of gyroscope, now oriented toward the far horizon, now looking down at the ground beneath my feet.