I`ve hardly known what to do the last couple of days. The latest snow event coincides with my surgery preparations and the imminent inauguration of a man with no political experience and fresh allegations of collusion with the Russians.
Nothing proven but compiled by a respected British intelligence expert. Where are those fierce Republican cold warriors now? Not to be seen because their guy won. Even with the help of the Russians. How about some old fashion patriotism GOP?
This op-ed gave me some comfort. It suggests Democrats take up the tactics of the tea party. Hmmm, it could work!
This may seem contrary to my values but I did change my party affiliation from Democrat to Independent. It`s easy in Oregon if you`re a licensed driver. Just find your county`s election office online and fill out the form. Now I only did this thinking my letters to public officials might be taken more seriously if my vote was seen as 'winnable'.
The snow started falling, trees started breaking and by 10 pm our power was gone. The automated estimated time of repair wasn`t too bad so we just went to sleep. In the morning John left for work and I stayed in bed to keep warm. It didn`t return until the middle of the next night! I have a tiny bit deeper understanding of homelessness now. Cold will find you. Once you finally get warm, any movement disrupts that comfort radically. It is humiliating.
Imagine if that was your daily existence?
The zeitgeist in my home this week has been agitated to be sure. By the fate of my knees of course, icy weather and horror about the possible future of our country. Noam Chomsky says today`s Republican Party is the most dangerous institution in human history. He may be right. The R. Party left democracy in North Carolina on par with that of Cuba.
So no titles on the paintings above yet. Soon I`ll have a whole lot of time on my hands and I will think of them then. What to do during the long recovery concerns me as much as pain. I suspect I`ll finally see some of the TV series I`ve heard people talk about for years.
Website is updated! Thank you Jeremy!
Here is a beautiful video tribute to the late great Oregon artist, Rick Bartow.
For me, Isaac Levitan is the father of the kind of landscape painting I aspire to; Work that comes from an emotional reaction to nature. In his brief 40 years he created a visceral, ground level view of his Russian countryside. Over a hundred years later, his moody landscapes are a touchstone for me and legions of other painters.
work for sale in my studio
5 comments:
Randall,
You have sort of the unholy trinity of bad events: snow, politics, and an impending surgery. Plus, the outage. Equilibrium is tenuous isn't it?
I like all 3 pieces shown. The hot and cold of that second landscape though. Biblical for me. And then your beautiful lines in the third piece. They look fluid and effortless.
I am sure everyone has told you what to do post surgery. It's hard to accept but the main thing you are doing is healing. It becomes the only thing. Eventually other stuff joins it but for awhile, that is what you are doing.
Good luck! Be well and hope to hear from you post op:)
Libby
What a shock to the system to have this much snow and cold! Yes, it doesn't take long for a house without power to get chilled and you start layering or just get into bed, but I understand (had that happen when I lived in Indiana and it was out for 2 days = harsh; but I still had a home with a fireplace going and could sleep in front of that on blankets). I wish your knee replacement surgery was over and you were well on your way to healing as I know the anxiety about it is probably worse than the pain you will feel while recovering. Yes, t.v. is the great numbing agent of our time so get into some shows and, as they say, binge watch! ha ha. Love these paintings; they don't really need names as I'm sure they evoke different things for different viewers. As for the inauguration, I think I'm depressed as a lot of people are and I try to avoid the news as much as possible now (which isn't the adult thing to do but sometimes you just have to admit you can't take it). Stay safe and warm - and sane :)
How terrible to be without power and heat! I had no idea the outage hit you; it seems the falling trees have created small pockets of outages all through the region. I do hope, however, that you have warmed back up and have been able to venture out into the snow. We aren't often blessed with this heavy and blanket of white followed by days of clear skies and low temperatures. It's perfect for seeing the effect of sunlight on snow and all the various colors that are produced. I am amazed by the brilliance of the blues in shadow when the sun is coming through the snow toward you. And though our eyes tell us the snow is white, it can often be very far down the value scale and requires a medium blue or violet to capture the look of it. I'd love to see your take on all these colors. It's a fascinating challenge that won't be around here for much longer.
I love the three new works on Yupo. I tend to forget about that material until I see what you can do with it.
Lovely work as usual, Randall. You'll be in my thoughts for the impending surgery....you'll be busy with PT, I imagine, no? Binge watching all those Netflix etc programs is a good idea. Do you read books? I love my Kindle - puts me to sleep sometimes, too! I won't be watching the inauguration of the tweeting man-child. You take care and let us know how you're doing.
I will not watch the inauguration either. He is not my president.
I'll be thinking of you recovering. If you get bored, feel free to email or skype.
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