6:02 PM: i’m feeling deep gratitude for being back in my studio after returning from carbondale; for HAVING such a great studio and the time to work in it all day and the physical health that allows me to do that. this morning i had a wonderful experience. i forgot something at the house and walked over to the house & back, 500 feet each way. it had rained last night, and the fragrances were fantastic. i took deep breaths as i locked eyes with the 3 bucks grazing about 20 feet away. they looked at me, mildly alarmed that i might present a danger to them. i talked to them, as i always do, reminding them that i’m a guy who would never harm them, and talking to them as i would to a human. they all had big racks. they turned their heads and looked at me, seeming to get my message. because none of them bolted, as they would have done a few years ago, before i started talking to them as if they totally understood my words. i guess they DO!
the completed watercolor 116 13 x 20”
3:32 PM: i completed watercolor 116 just now. it contains elements of many of the previous watercolors in this series. at the same time, it’s moving in the direction of a looser, freer interpretation of the creek. one could argue that the entire composition is in motion, rather than just the water.
8:39 AM: last night we had intermittent rain and thunderstorms, and we awoke to our first snow on the sangre de christo peaks, above 12,000 ft. it will warm up through the rest of the week, with temperatures climbing into the low 80’s over the weekend, but then we’ll settle into normal, for the season, temperatures in the mid-70’s, dropping to the 40’s at night.
if you click on the image and make it larger, you’ll see the snow more clearly.
at work on watercolor 116
1:35 pm: about 20 minutes ago, after making some delicious oatmeal, i started watercolor 116, which is 13 x 20” having brought back the remaining watercolors from my carbondale show, i’m referring to one of the more successful ones & getting ideas.
you may have noticed that in this photo i took of myself, you can see the printout of a creek photo i shot, which i’m referring to as i paint. if you follow my blog, you will know that this is a first; i used to remove these photos from the easel before taking the shot. i deliberately left it there in the interest of transparancy. one of my goals is to be as transparent as possible regarding my process.
examining the 26 x 66” stretcher bars for the proposed 2020 creek oil 4
at the same time, i’ve been contemplating and preparing for 2020 creek oil 4. i haven’t yet stretched the linen, but here you see me with the not-yet-assembled stretcher bars for the 26 x 66” painting. i may stretch the canvas this afternoon or tomorrow.