Another Invitation: I have a painting in the Colorado Watercolor Society’s 19th Annual Watermedia show that opens next week at the Colorado History Museum in Denver. I hope you’ll join me at the opening reception, Friday Evening, March 5th, from 5:00 – 8:00pm. If you can’t attend the reception, the show runs from March 5 through March 14.
Bass Head Light
Brushes: This week’s painting, Bass Head Light, is a studio piece inspired by our trip to Maine last September. We watched the sunset here, and I knew that the moment would become a painting someday. However, I’ve been traveling a lot, and not finding as much time to paint as I would like. My travels inspire me, but I think they also hold me back. Painting every day is, I think, the key to growth.
That said, I’m home for five days between trips. Last week we were in Florida for the launch of the SDO satellite. (Tom is the principal investigator of the EVE instrument.) The launch was exciting, and seeing the last night shuttle launch was a bonus. Despite some of the coldest weather Florida has had in years, I added to my vast collection of “must-paint” photo references! Some highlights were a boat tour of Winter Park, a visit to the Charles Hosmer Morse Museum (primarily works by Tiffany), several visits to the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, and Blue Springs State Park, where we saw more than 200 manatees. Stay tuned for some Florida paintings!
Books: I’m always eager to read engaging non-fiction and recently picked up a copy of Gabriel Thompson’s Working in the Shadows: A Year Doing the Jobs (Most) Americans Won’t Do. I was initially drawn to it because it sounded similar to Barbara Ehrenreich’s Nickel and Dimed. While there are some similarities, Working in the Shadows isn’t a clone. Thompson spent a year working in jobs that are primarily done by immigrants–picking lettuce, working in a poultry packing plant, and delivering restaurant food in New York City. Let’s just say that I’ll never look at my salad greens in the same way again, and I’m glad I gave up eating poultry several years ago! And I have a new appreciation for my job and working conditions!