This is something like the image that I had thought to work up into a painting. It is from a memory of being about five years old, and walking with my brother David, to see the RR tracks that ran behind our house in Iowa City. As I recall, it was just beyond the rhubarb…
Now that I have mastered the process of posting the manuscript for NOT TO WORRY, I have decided to post it all at this time. In doing so, I will be able to free up my time to continue my regular blurb writing, and move on to new ventures. At the same time, I…
No one can convince me that there is not a miasma that permeates all medical waiting rooms, hospital corridors, and laboratory walls. After my extended stay in all of the above, I have come to realize that much of the effect is caused by abysmal choices of wallpaper, paint, carpet, and upholstery materials. This designer…
Some time ago I finished a book about my adventures in Cancer Land. The book is based on my original email updates, sent out over the course of my treatment for bladder cancer. Many of you felt that the updates should be made available to a wider audience. Indeed I have sent out feelers to…
This summer in New England we have had brutal heat, extreme winds, and monsoon rains. Making plans in advance has been a real challenge. One’s only option has been the Russian roulette thing … put your finger on a date, make plans, and hope for the best. Sometimes it was possible to make a…
Yesterday morning I went to have blood work done … oh joy. Then I went grocery shopping … ditto the joy. While at the store, as a reward, I bought all the ingredients to make a carrot cake … a healthy cake … as a present to myself. A cake full of vegetables and raisins and nuts. What could be…
Memory is an odd thing. After two years, the memory of going through chemotherapy has faded. I certainly recall that it was god-awful, and made me sicker than anyone ever really needs to be. But the actual physical feelings induced by heavy-duty chemicals coursing through my veins … those have faded. Chemo is now really…
I have found that I really enjoy the process of creating landscapes entirely from memory. After years of painting from reference photos, it is exciting to manipulate reality to fit how a memory looks in my mind’s eye. These three landscapes represent three entirely different places in three entirely different times, and yet they live…
It has been a long-drawn-out winter here, and the extreme cold has meant that I have been unable to use oil paints for the duration. Instead I have been exploring a new technique which I refer to as Tesserae. These, like the piece in progress pictured above, are created using old paintings that have been…
Here’s a thought … Absentmindedness … is it a curse or a blessing? Is it possible absentmindedness is a physiological function that allows us to accomplish tasks without thinking? I just read about how dolphins and whales sleep with only one half of their brains, leaving the other half awake to take care of business.…