Otherwise

Elizabeth sat outside, 

working in the garden 

in the late afternoon sun. 

There was a lot to do, 

a lot of cutting back and weeding, 

cutting off dead heads in the rose bushes. 

You need a garden you can fuss with, she thought. 

Otherwise, what is the point 

of having a garden?

    —Anne Lamott, Crooked Little Heart

Well, I found me a garden to fuss with. It was my intention to go in and get out in mere minutes with this creative venture but that is not what took place when I gave my inner self paper, pens, and paint to play with. 

I need a painting to fuss with, I guess.

Otherwise, what is the point of painting!

The Freedom That Was There Right Along
8.5 x 11"; ink, watercolor, gouache, and oil pastel on drawing paper
bottlescape
2022

Exploring, 4

What I brought with me on vacation: a sheet of collage paper I'd handpainted with a green I'd mixed. No idea how long ago, no idea where the pieces I apparently cut from it were used as collage. Ignoring the irregular shape of the page, I began exploring with ink scribbles and one fully inscribed circle touched by four partially inscribed externally tangent circles:

What unfolded in between outdoor explorations and infusions of sea and salt and salmon and scallops and susurrations and sunlight and scents and stillness and strolls and strides and surprises and sweets and star-studded-skies:

untitled until I decide if this will remain a quirky-shaped single piece 
or become several smaller found compositions
roughly 6 x 9"; acrylic, watercolor, gouache, ink, and oil pastel on paper
 neurographic abstract
2022