29 November 2021 (Llano Quemado, New Mexico) - Empty canvases in every corner of my studio; each one has a planned image just waiting to be sketched and painted.
20 December 2021 - Today is blustery and cold - intermittent snow showers. Pinto beans in the crockpot. Making chicken stock in another pot on the stove. The house smells "happy"! Have worked all week on a series of new small paintings. Those larger blank canvases are still staring at me!
Haven't posted to this blog since late August. Finished my large painting Thunderspirits and it is now consigned to Chimayo Trading in Ranchos. Time to take stock before moving forward. Small studies - five finger exercises.
29 December 2021 (Llano Quemado, New Mexico) - Have I been lazy, or am I just getting old? Certainly a lot slower now. Haven't had "words" to share for months. Life changes and we shed the old and slowly become new again. This process takes Time and Silence.
Damn Christmas Eve! Seven years now since the death of my son. Naively I thought I might escape that annual trip to the dark side. Silly me! Weeping and wailing - memories - profound loss. The usual year-end reviews everywhere I look....the upcoming anniversary of that tragically historic day, January 6th. The new Omicron virus overloading hospitals, decimating previous Covid-19 records. Damn!!!! It would be too easy to fold my tent - give up!!! Retire? Walking into my studio area that big old clunker easel stares at me and I know it isn't time to put away my brushes.
Dawn...silence...the grey morning light reveals a fresh covering of snow. Across the fields a far away neighbor's happy Christmas lights blink brightly. This is a New Day - the coming New Year a complete mystery - another New Beginning!
