Looking and Being Seen

Looking and Being Seen

Oil on Wood

8"X6"

It turned cold and grey this morning. No more sitting outside pretending it's still summer. So I took myself to the de Young Museum to look at some of my favorite paintings in one of my favorite places, and to look at people looking at paintings which is one of my favorite things to do. I saw the Picasso show first as I had been urged to do by friends. It was vast and varied and certainly worth the trip. But as usual, the prize was hanging around my old favorites and watching people coming and going and sometimes stopping and looking and seeing and being seen. David Park's "Couple" is particularly enlivened by the presence of a person. Art augments Life augments Art.

Schoppert's Pears 2

Schoppert's Pears 2

Oil on Wood

6"X6"

SOLD

Schoppert's Pears

Schoppert's Pears

Oil on Wood

6"X6"
SOLD

You know it's Fall when the Schoppert's pears show up on our kitchen counter. Each one perfectly formed, the skin a rich tapestry of red/ochre/orange/green. One bite, and an entire summer of sweetness bursts back into being. Beautiful, delicious, and bountiful. The fruit of their labor. This one's for them.

At the Gate

At the Gate

Oil on Wood

4"X4"

Boats on San Francisco Bay 2

Boats on San Francisco Bay 2

Oil on Wood

4"X4"

It took all morning to upload files for a new business card. Nothing like conquering a tech feat to make one feel all kinds of powerful.  

I'm liking these old timey colors I happened upon painting the Boats on the Bay series. A new wave for me so to speak?  We'll see where it takes me. For now, it's the weekend. Warm and well earned after the morning's challenge.

Boats on San Francisco Bay

Boats on San Francisco Bay

Oil on Wood

4"X4"

I seem to have started a series of little paintings from the week of Big Boats racing on San Francisco Bay. Little because it's that time of year. (Monterey Museum of Art Miniatures, November 17, Bolinas Museum Mini Show November 19, Studio Gallery SF Tiny Show November 3.) Boats on the Bay because it's the backdrop of my life. The Bay, Alcatraz, the City, the Bridge, monuments all. Boats and big ships enlivening the seascape in the same way cows make Sonoma hillsides come alive.

We'll see what happens. 

Big Boats Racing on San Francisco Bay

Big Boats Racing on San Francisco Bay

Oil on Wood

10"X10"
SOLD

Big boats, big bridge, big bay, Winning combination. I wonder if the sailors know how beautiful they look on the water, like dancers choreographed by the wind. And if they would care less about winning or losing if they knew how much they contribute to the beauty of the landscape just by being there.

Yesterday I read every page of The New York Times Magazine "What if the Secret to Success is Failure?" Especially thought provoking, "The Character Test" and "Back in the Ol' Hippie Hothouse" about the resurrection of Antioch College, my alma mater. ("Antioch College, No Football Team Since 1929." Yes, that Antioch College.) But most of all, if you want to get inspired to some good in the world, don't miss "The Educational Experiences that Change a Life." Various people of note remember pivotal teachers and educational experiences that influenced the individuals they became. Oh my. To teach and change a life!  If only I could do that. Just once even. Horace Mann, the first president of Antioch College beseeched graduates to "...Be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for humanity." I better get crackin'.

Summer is Slipping Away

Hanging Out

Oil on Wood

8"X6"

Summer is slipping away. I am hanging on to long days, warm nights, breezy afternoons, and all that goes with it. Friends. Family. Books. And staring at the sea. If you want permission to stare, read Ann Patchett's, "What Now." And if you need permission to learn in unconvential ways listen to Philip Schultz talk about "My Dyslexia." Bottom line. Transition. It never ends.

Laundry Left Behind

Laundry Left Behind

Oil on Wood

10"X8"

Labor Day is all about leaving. Being left. And what is left behind.  I am looking forward to a weekend of warmth and reflection. Of all the Love we gathered up from June to September filling us up to overflowing for all the months to come.