Full Circle

Happy March 1st!  

It's been snowing since last night.  Snow on top of snow.  It feels warmer, though, and the snow is gentle.  I feel hope that Mother Nature is about to turn a corner.  Nonetheless, I don't think She wants us to forget that all seasons are favored, and She isn't about to short shrift the current one.

I thought I had finished this last night, but ended up putting more contrast into it this a.m.  I was listening to Led Zeppelin's, "Rain Song" while doing so--it's gentle, beautiful strings and gradual crescendoing underscored the cyclic nature of the piece (or at least it did in my mind.)

My husband said on his phone, he initially couldn't see the face in the roots.  I darkened it a little below to enhance it.  I used circles because of their symbolism:

The circle is a universal symbol with extensive meaning. It represents the notions of totality, wholeness, original perfection, the Self, the infinite, eternity, timelessness, all cyclic movement... (Hermes Trismegistus)). 

In any event, I'm very happy with this one...took a long time, but I was in a meditative state so it didn't matter.

Here are a few other pictures of what I woke up to this Sunday morning.   Pussy willows wearing a coat of snow.  March, I'm glad you're here.

Led Zeppelin's  "The Rain Song"

Three Deer

Driving home a new way tonight, I saw a wondrous sight.  Three deer crossing the road in front of me.  Such a beautiful gift from nature set against Her less generous gift of cold winds and swirling snow.

Watercolor, Acrylic, and Ink

140 lb. Arches Watercolor

Cash in Angles, 4 Colors, and Glitter - SOLD

HBO has been rerunning, "Walk the Line" this past week.  That movie is so fantastic--I had forgotten how much so.  It's one of those (like "The Godfather") that once you start watching, you can't pull yourself away from it.  I always was amazed that Joaquin Phoenix didn't receive the Academy Award for his incredible portrayal.

Anyway, I needed some Johnny today...something weird is happening in the atmosphere.  We're on the precipice of both a new moon and a looming snowstorm.  I have an obligation that I don't want to do, and I feel out-of-sorts.  Mother Nature, heavy with a still grayness, aligning with cosmic duty is causing me unrest.  I was going to draw that pic. of Johnny giving the finger to the camera, but I'm kind of tired of being misinterpreted so I didn't.  I like this one though.  I don't know if you can see it, but I ran scratches through the painting to give it a little edge--or maybe it was just to reflect my edginess.

Angling Cash

Johnny Cash - I Walk The Line 1958

And P.S., here's one of the best performances on the fall 2014 run of "The Voice."  Craig Wayne Boyd doing his version of Cash's classic.

Day 327. Global Storms Breaking Us

The weather is violent in the Midwest today.  We've had tornadoes 60 miles on either side of us, but have managed to only suffer heavy hail, downed limbs, and flying roof shingles.  So many homes and neighborhoods nearby have been flattened.  Even walking out a few minutes ago, hours after the worst has past, the winds are frightening.

Then, I think about the devastation experienced by people in the Philippines by Typhoon Haiyan.  I have been weighing in my mind for days on how I could pay some sort of respect to their suffering by means of a painting.  Today with the house windows shuttering madly, Mother Nature indiscriminately changing lives and abodes in mere moments, I am struck once again of how we are all preciously and precariously linked across the globe.

Here's my good friend, Don's house, after the tornado went through today.  Thank goodness he was at work when it happened.

Here's an absolutely unbelievable video of the tornado, with audio, of it coming, hitting a house, and going: 

http://www.thewire.com/culture/2013/11/gone-50-seconds-heres-craziest-video-youll-see-washington-tornado/355418/

Here's another helicopter shot--2 min. long showing 100's of homes in piles of splinters-just mind-blowing:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=GvSTID7NhsI

UPDATE 1/4/15:

Here's Don Keeley in the paper again, this time approximately 14 months later, FINALLY back into a new home at the same address, vinyl collection in tow;

Peoria Journal Star - Don Keeley Returns Home.

Day 277. El Encierro - What A Bull Thinks

My internet connection went down today.  I was typing something and off everything went.  Terror ripped through me--no internet access, not again?!  Ah, we are so spoiled.  So while I called my IP, I grabbed a canvas that I had previously painted metallic red days before.

Why the running of the bulls?  It's not really the time of year for it.  It was the metallic, red color that brought it to mind.  I was just thinking, red equals blood equals people getting gouged by a bull in Spain, plus some beautiful, metallic matador's capote (jacket) floating through the air.  Back in July, I had read about some dude from Ohio who experienced a "rectal perforation" this year--actually several people really got it--23 injuries!  Ouch! Ah, here's the link for more information if you dare:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/13/spain-running-of-the-bulls-stampede_n_3591208.html

Maybe I am totally lame.  Yes, I'm sure that's true.  But I'll tell you what, I have COMPLETE respect for the indiscriminate whims of Mother Nature and animals.  I don't try to outsmart them, and I know my capabilities.  I am not a tri-athlete (or any kind of athlete!) nor a "bull-whisperer" so therefore you will never see me risking rear-end, entrail-tearing events such as that stated above and shown below!  Then I thought, can you imagine what the bull thinks?  "You idiots!  And then you'll be mad at me for hurting you."  I think they must be simultaneously angry and weary of it all at the same time!  O.K., so that's where this one started from...all triggered from the metallic, red color, my being on hold for 45 minutes, and my meandering mind. (-;

And here's how the bull thinks: 

 

"On this day, it's the same thing. The "running of the bulls" occurs in San Fermín and I, because I am a bull, try to kill people.  Don't blame me, it's my nature!  Fools!"

"En este día es todo lo mismo. "El Encierro" occure en San Fermín y yo, porque soy un toro, trato de morir las personas.  No me culpo por eso, es mi naturaleza.  ¡Los tontos!"

Day 182. Mother Nature Is Always Watching (SOLD)

Mother nature is always watching.

This painting is a bit of a dreamy one.  It makes me feel suspended in a slow motion half sleep, somehow.