Author: -N-

Under a Summer Sky

More Pointillism!

This painting was done on a larger sheet of paper than my earlier ones as my sketch book was filled and finished with the painting of the other day. I began with a thin wash of gouache, putting in the basic colors of the sky, fields, house and trees. From there, I began the dots. And more dots. And even more dots. Paint went from thin to thick, and thin again. Dots were bigger and smaller. The closer I came to the completion of the painting, the more I began to use the paint to shape the different areas of the subject. I tried to use some complementary colors in shadows, such as red in the shadows of the trees, and bright yellow to enliven the lavender. Altogether, this painting took about 3-4 hours to complete (I lost track of time), but in the end, the dots were worth the effort.

I think I could live here.

Flight

The other day I just had to get out for a bit of a walk, this time without the dogs. I headed out to an area that is reached by a tunnel under a busy road. From there, a school is to the right and a trail heads out to a canyon behind a number of houses. It’s rather wild back there, but it is also a view into people’s back yards. In one spot, I heard the cooing of doves or pigeons, and then a sudden flap of wings. Looking up, the birds were circling around and around. I managed to catch this after a lot of misses.

Storm on the Prairie

Strange weather afoot – rain, wind, tornado.

If you have never lived on the prairies or traveled through the vast middle section of the U.S., you have missed some majestic land and sky. The weather can change in an instant, you might see it coming, you might not. Flat, lonely, filled with a terrible beauty.

Gouache, of course!

Back to Prison We Must Go!

Sung to the tune of London Bridge is Falling Down:

Back to prison we must go!  We must go! 
Back to prison we must go, oh dreaded Covid!

As of this writing, 85% of California will be back on lock down. More than 50% of the state’s population is in my neck of the woods, specifically Southern California, and it begins at midnight tonight.

Regulations are designed to reduce the spread of Covid-19 as well to prevent a lack of ICU and hospital beds occurring.

I don’t find our restrictions so draconian as other places, nor are they as restrictive as when the first lock down began last spring. These are restrictions we can live with as we are not changing our lifestyles all that much. The only difference we have is a lack of family gatherings or a beer or coffee with friends. That makes it socially . . . isolated.  Social isolation helps and hurts, as we all know.

California state mandates have fine details, which should be read, to get more informed information about the okay and not-okay. For instance, the newspapers are saying that households cannot mingle, but the state website, when I type in my county, states:

Small private gatherings

Are allowed outdoors only with modifications
– Masks and physical distancing required
– No more than 3 separate households attend (including the host’s)
– Gatherings should be 2 hours or less
– Those with symptoms must not attend
– Those at high risk of severe illness strongly encouraged not to attend
– Singing, shouting, chanting, cheering, or exercising strongly discouraged

See guidance for gatherings and holidays.

So, we could have a family Christmas gathering within specific parameters; however, I expect if we have one, it will be very, very small.

What I do not understand, and I would think this way even if I was much younger, is a failure to realize that this is not about me, but about us, meaning the good of everyone.  I wonder if this is a characteristic of the American culture, this rugged individualism and selfishness.  Do other countries experience this defiance of the collective for individual “rights” which endanger every other person?  I expect so, but it seems that a failure to show consideration for others is more and more in the public eye, from the self-aggrandizement of “leaders” to ICU nurses bragging about flaunting safety outside the workplace.

Whatever the situation, we – my household and extended family – will embrace these restrictions for our own good and the good of others.  If we stay healthy, we help others stay healthy.