#519 • The Why of Everything

 

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Almost through with March and slipping into April, the light is rapidly changing, the sun is stronger on our faces, and we are tempted to think that spring is something we in Maine know it is not. It’s black fly season that we have to look forward to. In the meantime mud season has arrived, and those cool winds from Canada that refuse to give up continue to add to the torture called expectation.

 

Depressing as it seems, those of us who cultivate indoor plants know they help us bridge the seasons in a state of peace and well being. They are a gift to humans like me who struggle to understand the why of everything.

The Why of Everything • 21" x 21" acrylic on 100 % cotton rag watercolor paper • $850 unframed

#518 • When the Mountains Dance

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I sent a photo of our field to some skier friends in Canada who are currently snowed under and were boasting about it. The field was in the midst of a transformation from winter to spring. It was the day after the spring equinox and I was boasting we would be gardening in no time. Within hours of sending them that photo, a snowstorm came sneaking in and dropped five inches of heavy snow. 

So...as a reminder folks, winter ain't over until the old man says it is.

When The Mountains Dance • Acrylic on cradled birch • 30" x 22" • $2500

#517 • Here's To Dreams That Thankfully Didn't Come True

 

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I did these three paintings a long time ago. They reflect an old 60s boomer wish I always had to take off for the west coast to surf into oblivion. My car, if I got there alive, would be a VW convertible with white walls and madras seat covers. Totally impractical but I figured better than my first choice which would have been a woody and hell to keep on the road. 

In the meantime, I had no practical life skills, no money, was uneducated, and an idiot. It's probably a good thing I ended up in Maine where I survived those turbulent years more or less intact.

So here's to dreams that thankfully didn't come true.

Here's To Dreams That Thankfully Didn't Come True • Three 10" x 10" acrylics unframed • $900

#516 • There's Still Time

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I think there comes a time in everyone's life when we realize we're no match for the planet. Whether it's trying to fight the weather, go up against the magnitude of planetary events, or try to capture it's beauty and grandeur, the planet always has been and always will be the master.

It's kind of like thinking you're going to be on the pro tour when there's no way in hell it will ever happen at this point in your life. So we throw in the towel and say, it is what it is. And that's okay and a relief because you've given it everything you've got. But then you keep looking over your shoulder and know you will return to finish it one of these days. After all, it took the planet a kazillion years to produce it. There's still time.

There's Still Time, Dagger and Sheep Islands, East Penobscot Bay • 24" x 24" acrylic on canvas  $2100

#515 • A Final Look-see

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There's always a period of calm before a first big snow storm is the final decision to put the landscape to sleep until spring. Maybe it's a meditation some of us do if we notice. A meditation on what is now in anticipation of what won't be soon. A look-see at the wondrous working of a perfect planet.

A Final Look-see • 23" x 21" acrylic framed to 29" x 27"  •  $2100

#514 • Hopscotch Into Winter

 

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I know better than to question the inner workings of the mind of an artist, so I don't know why question my own this time. Guess it's because I am actually perplexed. For some reason it came to me that we have hopscotched into winter this year and this is what came out. Go figure.

Hopscotch Into Winter • 9.5' x 19.5' acrylic framed to 13.5" x 23.5"  • $650

513 • November Full Beaver Super Moon

 

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The November full Beaver Moon will peak on November 5 at 8:19 am EST. It is the closest the moon has been to Earth this year, so it will also be a super moon bobbing only 221,817 miles away from our planet. The moon will look its largest when it is near the horizon of course, because our brain compares it to trees and/or buildings. It's called a moon illusion.

Now one could speculate here that because it's the beaver/super moon, our common beaver grows to an astonishingly large and aggressive beast, terrorizing the landscape, snarling and chomping huge trees that tower like the great redwoods of the west deep in the forest - trees that they could never endeavor to tackle any other time. It's a strange phenomenon that harkens back to a time their ancestors, the size of our present day houses, roamed the Earth with teeth ten feet long and sharp as razors, ravaging the landscape and anything that got in their way. Yikes!

November Full Beaver Super Moon • 9" x 10" framed to 13" x 14" • $350