Celebrating the life and heart of a writer

"Perhaps, I fear, this decision deprives society of one great programmer in favor of one mediocre writer. And let’s not hide behind the cloak of uncertainty, let’s say we know that it does. Even so, I would make it. The writing is too important, the programming too unenjoyable.

And for that, I apologize."

(Aaron Swartz)

Although I don't know much at all about Aaron Swartz -- only becoming aware of him as a result of his suicide -- I am moved by his writing.

(The above gouache on paper is a work in progress by am.  I am wondering why I find it so hard to sustain a painting and drawing practice, even though painting and drawing are things I am good at.  At this time in my life, I would rather write something on this blog or answer email or read a book or take a long walk or practice yoga or get together with friends most mornings at 7:30 a.m. for a breakfast of sorts.  It's not that painting and drawing are unenjoyable, though.  It's something else that hinders me.  What could it be?)

"So let us go forward, quietly, each on his own path, forever making for the light."
(Vincent van Gogh)

BELLINGHAM SPECTRUM SERIES: DURING THE WAR (2007)

This is the last painting, for now, of the Bellingham Spectrum series, 25 paintings created between March 1 and May 17, 2007. Yesterday I delivered "BELLINGHAM SPECTRUM SERIES: RED #1" (see the post for July 31, 2007) for jurying at a local art gallery. I'll find out tomorrow morning whether it has been accepted on a commission basis.

BELLINGHAM SPECTRUM SERIES: THRESHOLD (2007)

How strange that nature does not knock, and yet does not intrude! (Emily Dickinson)

BELLINGHAM SPECTRUM SERIES: VIOLET #1 (2007)

BELLINGHAM SPECTRUM SERIES: INDIGO #1 (2007)

Today I took a 3-hour walk with a friend at The Stimpson Family Nature Reserve. The highlight for me was seeing a very large Pacific Tree Frog jump to the side of the trail and later being able to hold a smaller Pacific Tree Frog who was also at the side of the trail. Although I frequently hear Pacific Tree Frogs, I have rarely seen them in Northwest Washington. We also saw a solitary deer who let us walk very close, a pair of Kingfishers, a Great Blue Heron, a Downy Woodpecker, and what I think may have been Wrentits. As we were walking back toward the trailhead, a somewhat distressed-looking young man jogged by us on his way out of the reserve. As he passed us up, he said that an owl had swooped down and "massaged his scalp" as he ran through the woods.

BELLINGHAM SPECTRUM SERIES: BLUE #1 (2007)

Bought a book today with a bookstore credit -- THE WAVE IN THE MIND: TALKS AND ESSAYS ON THE WRITER, THE READER AND THE IMAGINATION, by Ursula K. Le Guin (2004).

BELLINGHAM SPECTRUM SERIES: WAKING UP IN SPRING (2007)

This is the 16th of 26 paintings I did between March 8 and May 1 of this year. Spring seems like a long time ago. Summer is my low energy time of year. I want to hibernate. It is cool and overcast today with a light breeze.

BELLINGHAM SPECTRUM SERIES: GREEN #1

I've been on study schedule, preparing to challenge two quarters of Anatomy and Physiology at the local community college in order to fulfill the prerequisites for their Massage Practitioner Program, for which I am second on the waiting list. Reviewing this material via a series of DVDs and textbooks has been a good experience. When I do my yoga practice and when I am walking in the woods, I am much more aware of the intricacies of my body.

Along with studying for the challenge exam, I've been re-reading THE LETTERS OF VINCENT VAN GOGH (Penguin Classics edition) as well as re-reading NEZHNIE: WEAVER AND INNOVATIVE ARTIST, by Linda Rees. Yesterday I got out my inkle loom and started another inkle belt:

















Between now and the end of October is my favorite season in Northwest Washington. It is the time of year that most reminds me of my best memories of winter in the San Francisco Bay Area in the late 1950s. For the most part, the sun shines and the temperatures are in the high 60s and low 70s, accompanied by a gentle breeze. The air is clear, fresh and spicy with the fragrance of flowers and evergreen trees. As I did as a child, I walk often, sometimes with friends but frequently alone.

Today's new flower from my porch garden:

BELLINGHAM SPECTRUM SERIES: YELLOW #1

BELLINGHAM SPECTRUM SERIES: DIALOGUE (2007)

BELLINGHAM SPECTRUM SERIES: ICY DAY IN EARLY SPRING (2007)

As a result of visiting Whiskey River, I found this.

and this:

‘The question occurs to me -- and quite seriously -- how many shoe soles, how many ox-hide soles Alighieri wore out in the course of his poetic work, wandering about on the goat paths of Italy. The Inferno and especially the Purgatorio glorify the human gait, the measure and rhythm of walking, the foot and its shape. The step, linked to the breathing and saturated with thought: this Dante understands is the beginning of prosody . . . ‘

Osip Mandelstam, The Noises of Time, trans. by Clarence Brown

(from the heading of an interview by Alec Finlay with Thomas A. Clark)

BELLINGHAM SPECTRUM SERIES: ORANGE #1 (2007)

"I have no time to be in a hurry." (Henry David Thoreau)

BELLINGHAM SPECTRUM SERIES: SPRING AT THE OCEAN PAINTED FROM MEMORY (COPYRIGHT 2007)

July moon to the southeast at twilight:

BELLINGHAM SPECTRUM SERIES: CROSSING FROM WINTER INTO SPRING (COPYRIGHT 2007)

and looking east on the afternoon of July 25, 2007:

















Today I learned about this today via Theresa William's blog and added "My Library" to my blog below my archives.

BELLINGHAM SPECTRUM SERIES: INDIGO TREE (COPYRIGHT 2007)

While painting these recent images, starting in March and ending in May, I was listening to a reading of Robert Pirsig's book, ZEN AND THE ART OF MOTORCYCLE MAINTENANCE , having first read the book around 30 years ago, and then went on to read Robert Pirsig's second book, LILA: AN INQUIRY INTO MORALS, where he mentions an affinity with William James, a philosopher and psychologist and author of the book, VARIETIES OF RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE.

The next time I was in a bookstore, I came across the recently published book, WILLIAM JAMES: IN THE MAELSTROM OF AMERICAN MODERNISM, by Robert D. Richardson and bought it and am nearly finished reading it.

From Richardson's book, p. 474:

"Like all of us, James had many sides. Like other uninhibited people, he had more layers and more life in him than most, and despite notable blindnesses, he was better acquainted with himself than most. He was always teetering on the brink of collapse, but had been able -- so far -- to catch himself and fall backward to safety at the last moment. The different parts held together in a kind of confederacy. The fundamental condition of his life was, now and always, torn-to-pieces-hood. But the pieces were never just thrown to the winds. They remained loosely if oddly clumped together, never completely unified, but on the same shelf."

I am looking forward to the upcoming discussion of ZEN AND THE ART OF MOTORCYCLE MAINTENANCE at In A Dark Time.

Some July views from home:

BELLINGHAM SPECTRUM SERIES: STORMY PLACE (COPYRIGHT 2007)

"In dark rooms ghost-green fires are shining." -Tu Fu

Thanks to Brian from Five Branch Tree

BELLINGHAM SPECTRUM SERIES: BIRD WITH LANDSCAPE (COPYRIGHT 2007)

BELLINGHAM SPECTRUM SERIES: NIGHT GARDEN (COPYRIGHT 2007)

Red Duck (2006)

"Red Duck" is the last image from my 40-year retrospective (1966-2006). It was painted after I had a dream last June, where the only thing I could remember was that I had seen a red duck. The dream seemed to be a good omen, and I thought that there might be a new series of paintings in the works. Instead, it was the last image I painted until I started painting again in March of 2007. It could well be considered the first in that same series on which I have been working since March of 2007.

Although I have 24 new paintings, I am going to take a break from blogging for a week or two. Thank you to Loren, Lori , robin andrea , bev and kjm for your comments and encouragement since I began my 40-year retrospective in December of 2006. Thank you to all who have been visiting without leaving any comments.

Here's a sampling from my porch garden. The seeds I planted a few weeks ago are coming up, too.

September 11 #1 & 2 and Nooksack Falls Painted from Memory (2002)

Almost a year after September 11, I painted the two above images in Payne's Gray, closely followed by the image of Nooksack Falls painted from memory. I didn't paint again until sometime in 2003 after my father died of congestive heart failure on St. Patrick's Day of that year.