a poem and two paintings

Here is a little poem for a today:

           The sudden heavy rain-

          “its like a waterfall now”

          she said looking out

          through the plate glass windows

          of the coffee shop.

 I've always been intrigued with the challenge of painting a mountain in a small two dimensional space that does more than just create a realistic illusion.  I don't know how many times I have taken photos of mountains only to be disappointed with the little 4x6 glossy print in my hand.  It always fails to convey their massive presence.  So here are two more attempts.  The first is from our trip to the Isle of Skye in Scotland a year ago, and the second is from Skagit Valley, Washington State where once a year fields of tulips blaze color below snow capped mountains.  

Mountains of the Mind 2 22x28

 

Mountains of the Mind 3 22x28

new pastels

Tulip vendor in Skagit Valley, WA

house with a view in St. George, Bermuda

St. George, Bermuda

new work

"Mountains of the Mind" 30x30 oil

poem

Wallpaper

I wake mid

night, and walking back

from the bathroom

I pass a window, a charging phone.

In places I can’t see

for the dark, and too sleepy

to wait on perception,

a lightly patterned image

films my eyes

laid in place

over the unknown

Like the stories we tell

rehearsed memories of birthdays

and Christmas

a screen, paper thin to cover

forgotten days and words.

digging out

 It was warm enough today after shoveling to sit and sketch while my husband finished the job! 

juncos in the snow

oceanview

I finished this painting a couple weeks ago.  The inspiration came from a trip two years ago to St. George, Bermuda. We walked along a little road through a neighborhood where residents lived on the edge of a sprawling abandoned golf course.  The road followed the ridge of the island with views here and there of the sea both to the North and the South.  The sun was getting low and these houses with views of the ocean were catching the last light.