Reckless Conditions

… the point is
that not only does time fly
and do we die,
but also
that in these reckless conditions
we live at all,
and are vouchsafed,
for the duration 
  of certain inexplicable moments,
to know it.
                               —Annie Dillard,
                          Pilgrim at Tinker Creek

Vouchsafed
3.5 x 5" postcard; acrylic and ink on cardstock
abstract landscape
2019

This Is It

This is it, I think, 
this is it, 
right now, 
the present, 
this empty gas station, here, 
this western wind,
this tang of coffee on the tongue, 
and I am patting the puppy, 
I am watching the mountain.
                         —Annie Dillard,
              Pilgrim at Tinker Creek

This Is It, I Think
3.5 x 5" postcard; acrylic, ink, collage, and pastel on card stock
abstract
2019

Absolutely from Scratch

Every year a given tree

creates absolutely from scratch

ninety-nine percent of its living parts.
A big elm

in a single season

might make as many as 

six million leaves,

wholly intricate,

without budging an inch;

I couldn't make one.

                                     Annie Dillard

                     Pilgrim at Tinker Creek

Without budging from my studio, scratching my head in wonder and bemusement, unlike Annie Dillard I do create—absolutely from scratch—a handful of wholly intricate leaves! Woo hoo!

Firebursts
4 x 6"; acrylic, ink, and collage on card stock
abstract
2019

An improbable history:

Firebursts

Dans la Salle de Bain, Enfin!

A little virtual tour, at long last.

bathroom renovation coming together
with salt marsh paintings in place

paintings offer 'windows' to nearby salt marshes,
reflecting our by-the-sea shower tile selection
and our by-the-sea corner of the world

light from wall sconce intensifies texture in painting 

more pretties, flowers from Dave's gardens

salt marsh, by-the-sea tile, and sea glass

Spot the Differences, Part 2

In the images below, spot the differences between the right-hand side of the original painting as it appeared when first cut (on left) and that same piece once completed (on right):

     

Spot the Differences, Part 1

Spot the Differences is a type of puzzle where players must find differences between two otherwise similar images. These puzzles are commonly found in activity books for children.

I flash back to sitting in a dentist's waiting room as a youngster, searching for such differences between two images in a Highlights for Children magazine.

You remember that You Need Not and You Need Only were originally part of one larger painting that I cut in half.

work in progress before the cut
early August 2019

In the images below, spot the differences between the left-hand side of the original painting as it appeared when first cut (on left) and that same piece once completed (on right):

     

Up Close and Personal

I love an element of surprise in a painting. Could be front, center, and unmissable; could be a hidden treasure only noticed up-close-and-personal—and maybe not even noticed at all until a second, third, or thirteenth interaction with the painting.

In You Need Not and You Need Only the eye-openers for me come from bits of print collage that require a moment of stillness and close inspection to discover. To my delight, I'm repeatedly surprised and enlivened by these snippets each time I find one, even though my very own hands embedded them in this painting to begin with!

detail, You Need Only

detail, You Need Only

detail, You Need Only

Happenmagic

India ink
magazine pages
asemic writing
typeface
latex paint
paintbrushes
matte medium
oil pastel
acrylic paint
palette knives
scribbles
titanium white
texture sheets
mars black
catalyst tool
stencils
naples yellow

>>>>>>>>>

cordgrass
saltmarsh hay
spike grass
black grass
mud
silt
clay
lavender
seaside goldenrod
switchgrass
groundsel-tree
saltmarsh elder
glasswort
saltmarsh bulrush
salt reedgrass
narrow-leaved cattail
sweet flag
wild rice
climbing hempweed

>>>>>>>>>

Happenmagic, I tell ya!

detail, You Need Not …

detail, You Need Not …

detail, You Need Not …

Salt Marshes

Like estuaries, salt marshes are also located in the intertidal zone. In my neck of the woods, these dynamic biological communities are marked by salt-tolerant vegetation often found among a mosaic of meandering tidal creeks.

Glaciers scoured the Northern Massachusetts coast thousands of years ago and mud, silt, and clay sediments settled out of the water to form extensive mudflats in many of the protected areas of the coast. Twice a day at low tide, in what became a perpetually repeated process over millennia, portions of these mudflats were exposed to open air. Seeds from Spartina alterniflora and Spartina patens took root in the mud. As grasses sprouted and spread through underground rhizomes, the thick growth began to trap more sediments and organic matter which raised the level of the marsh. The organic matter and dead spartina grasses accumulated underneath the new growth as peat. Over time, rich, complex, interconnected living ecosystems evolved.

Um, is it just me, or does this sound like my painting process?!

You Need Only Breathe In, Breathe Out
10.5 x 13.5"; acrylic, latex, ink, collage, and oil pastel on drawing paper
abstract landscape
2019