September is over.
Another summer behind us. Though the temperatures still have us, and some resilient bugs, still believing that summer is hanging on.
I often feels like I am just never getting enough done, but I am trying to be comfortable with the idea that I am doing what I am supposed to be doing at any given moment… Most of the time it doesn’t feel like much or or even like progress, and my day job still takes a large share of my time. And so I continue to try to do the work, hoping it is enough and that meaning somehow comes in the making.
There are glimmers of hope as I work on some ideas for new painting projects or larger watercolor or charcoal works and in the past few weeks I did complete something that I can call a finished piece, though in the big scheme of things, it may just be a study or one of many iterations for something larger.
This is a charcoal and pastel drawing from a reference photo of my wife and grandchild. It was an experiment of sorts in designing an atmosphere of peace and stillness. What began as a sketch became an experiment in designing a focal point of higher interest with detail and contrast but leaving soft edges and less detailed areas for the viewers eyes to complete. I actually like it.
Grateful this month for the small things: a finished drawing, a new idea or two, and 39 years with the woman who, for reasons I still don’t quite understand, chose to share this journey with me.
A few years ago I thought I had carved my last door. But here I am. This is hard maple so it is taking a little more time than I expected, (actually that is an excuse, I just have not been putting in the adequate time). This sort of work feels good to me and gives me a little project where I can actually get paid for being an artist. We will have to keep tabs on how this project progresses:
“It is not that we have a short time to live, but that we waste much of it.” — Seneca
And for a thoughtful moment, to build on my video from last month, I have always enjoyed this little video. I watch it now and then just for perspective: