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At first I wanted it to be only pen and ink, because that made the differences of form really sing out.  Now I am revisiting my old friends with an eye to painting them in color.  For this one, I wanted to suggest the gestalt of the plant, rather than render it in scientific accuracy.

There has been a break since my last post, and before that I have been sporadic.  This is because I've been thinking what my message should even be about. Also, I've been going through some stuff.  A year ago I had a very bad reaction to  my first chemo treatment.  After a week  in the hospital I was finally given to understand that my heart had nearly stopped for good.  A second treatment put me into shock, and at that point the doctor said I was done with chemo.  Thank goodness!  Then recently, I nearly lost my son. He had been complaining of headaches, and finally a scan revealed a subdural hematoma.  Since then I've heard of some other people having the same, potentially fatal, thing happen, something I'd never even heard of before. 

What I've learned is, we really aren't in control here.  I was raised to believe that if you ate right, exercised and brushed your teeth, life would go well for you.  Well, ok that is an oversimplification but you get the idea.  My family was pretty judgmental, believing that if something bad happened to someone they probably deserved it.  I grew into a rather anxious adult, always scanning the horizon for things to watch out for, always trying to be perfect so that nothing bad would happen.  Surprise!  Very bad things indeed can and do happen, straight out of left field.  What a relief it is to know this.  What flows out of this is the understanding of what matters, and that is, we're here to love ourselves, and the life we have been given.  We are not here to beat ourselves up.  As I've learned to relax and just love my life, I have begun to feel connected to everything and everyone.  Turns out, all the clichés are true!  So, go with the flow out there.  And have some fun.

There are so many layers of memory here that sometimes when I walk the trail I must blink away the memories to see what is actually before me, today.  Changes have come, of course.  Both to me and to "my" park.  Still, we recognize each other, this place and I.

I'm not as eager to get in and swim anymore, but watching the waves still nourishes my soul.    

I've had a series of photos of the shoreline for a number of years, and finally felt I wanted to try to capture the sense of movement and gorgeous color of our magnificent lake.  Above the water rises a spirit fish, symbolizing the magic I always feel from a body of water, and also the wish for clean healthy ecosystems.  

This painting is now available, along with a selection of others of my work, at the Curtis Frame Gallery in Libertyville.  I dearly love this beautiful little gallery located in the parking lot near the rose garden.  Do check it out if you are in the area, you won't be disappointed.

For this little painting, just 9x12", I wanted to capture that dark mystery you can see on a very sunny day.  What might be lurking below the surface?  See how the sun sparkles on the surface?  And a flash above~a dragonfly!