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Dussel Farm in February   watercolor   8.25 x 23.25

Sense of place is so important to our well being.  I am fortunate to be able to work in silence in my studio and to feel a part of the outside natural world through the large windows.  It took many years for me to feel comfortable in our rural community.....I think we were "newbies" for the first twenty years.  I believe that is why moving is often difficult, even traumatic.  I have known a few people whose constant childhood moves have impacted them negatively for the rest of their lives.  HOME.  The farms around us have gradually been selling off and becoming housing developments.....although I try to keep in mind how happy these new homeowners are to have their own part of the American Dream,  I know in my heart that I prefer looking at pastures.  Thomas Moore states in The Re-Enchantment of Everyday Life:

     I would wish to be a member of a community that judged itself on the happiness of its children rather than on      the unhindered flow of its mechanical inventions.

Dussel Farm is one of the hearts of our community.  We pass it almost daily.  We buy corn, bird seed and pumpkins there.  Our children schooled with theirs.  "Dussel Farm in February" is heartfelt.  My last winter landscape of the season.

Labor

Painter   oil/canvas   48 x 24 x 1.5

Labor is a notion that I would like to celebrate in my work. The process of working with one's hands is, in my opinion, one of the most satisfactory things a person can do.....we can lose ourselves in the daily rhythms of cleaning, gardening, repairing and painting, whether a picture or a dwelling. In The Re-Enchantment of Everyday Life, Thomas Moore says that caring for one's dwelling is important to the soul.....that is, as opposed to hiring someone to do our own "dirty work". I believe that is true. Cleaning our brushes with care is part of the creative process. Cleaning our bathrooms can be equally as satisfying. Two of my sons live in San Francisco where turn-of-the-century Victorian homes abound. These dwellings are often several stories with loads of decorative turned and lacy piece-work. Not an easy job to paint! On a walking tour of the Mission district, I shot photos of a house painter, perched high up on a ladder, seeming almost relaxed in the rhythm of the strokes. "Painter" is the result. I hold this man in high regard. That is the story. "Painter" can be seen at Second April Galerie in "The View From Here".