watercolor 28 13x20”
1:39 PM: watercolor 28 just happened, in the midst of having viber calls with my ex, my grandson and my grand daughter in athens, greece. last night i discovered a group of photos shot on april 14, on one of our trail walks. the more i looked, the more i remembered the unusually sharp and crisp lighting conditions that day; even moreso than the normal light here in crestone/baca, which is superb due to our altitude and almost complete absence of air pollutants. as i looked more carefully, i isolated a few that stood out.
these 3 or 4 photos have a variety of patterns and colors i haven’t seen in any of the previous photos i’ve taken during our walks, and there are very many of them. i think perhaps i didn’t make this discovery until last night because i wasn’t far enough along in my process to know what to do with them! i placed this latest watercolor 28 on the east wall along with the rest, and it stands out. not only because of the intensity of the blues i used; but because of the boldness of the pink and oranges against the blues, and the certainty of my strokes. i knew as i was working that i was making a leap today, and even the viber calls didn’t get in the way. i actually placed my iphone on a tripod and let philip watch as i worked. and then…. then that moment arrived when my body knew to stop, and i listened. a memorable day in my experience of this covid isolation, and a memorable moment in my life as an artist.
8:28 AM: yesterdays walk was cut short by a hail storm with thunder, which was kind of exciting. along the way, i was struck by the patterns on these 3 rocks, which you see BELOW. i’ll post updates on new paintings once i get to my studio in a few hours.
although i’ve been observing the rocks here in crestone/baca for many years, what i discover on the trails always seems new and exciting to me, and gives me ideas for my work. as you are probably aware, the rocks known as crestone conglomerates are unique to this area. they can also be found in some parts of tibet. they were created millions of years ago as a result of intense volcanic activity, which resulted in different kinds of rocks literally melting into one another. rock sex.
these rocks are always perfect. never seen a bad one. and the endless variations in patterning and color fuel my innate need to translate all this into marks on a flat surface.
