September Sun © 2009 Catharine Woods
Boulder’s Open Studios Tour is just around the corner (Oct. 3,4,10, and 11), and that has forced me to spend more time on the business side of art. A lot of that time has been spent wrestling with software programs, some that I use frequently, and some that I only use a few times of year. Just this week I’ve updated my business cards, made a poster for the educational component of OS, used Photoshop to watermark paintings for the web, updated databases of addresses and paintings, printed address and painting labels, worked on my website and blog, added images to my iphoto portfolio, and finalized a playlist to use during OS. Whew! I just want to paint!
This week’s painting, September Sun, was inspired by our trip to the Boulder Farmer’s Market last Saturday. There were sunflowers everywhere! We brought home a lovely bunch, along with some of the last (and sweetest) peaches of the season. Both joy and melancholy accompany the last days of summer–I hope I’ve captured those emotions here.
The book that I listened to this week, Tin Roof Blowdown by James Lee Burke, takes place in New Orleans in the last days of summer–the summer that Katrina and Rita devastated the area. This is the 16th book in Burke’s Dave Robicheaux mystery series, but the first that I’ve read. I was browsing through the list of Audible Essentials looking for a good listen; this one caught my eye because we spent a week in New Orleans a few months ago working on the rebuilding effort, and I was in the mood for a good mystery. This one didn’t disappoint. Tin Roof Blowdown begins as Katrina bears down on New Orleans, and we see the chaos, confusion, and loss as it occurs. Crime and vigilante justice intersect, and detective Dave Robicheaux’s family is pulled into the action and tragedy. While the overall mood of the novel is dark, there are moments of beauty and redemption. I look forward to reading more by James Lee Burke.
And if you’re interested in reading more about Hurricane Katrina and New Orleans, I would also recommend Nine Lives: Death and Life in New Orleans by Dan Baum and City of Refuge by Tom Piazza.