A grand day...

President Obama is President once again. And the Republicans are still perplexed as to how they will best derail any of his plans. They do have some ideas and they will put them out there just to see which way the political wind is blowing. I'm not worried. A little bit irritated at them but not worried...

I just came in from my studio where I've been working on a few paintings. One is Pollock style on a small scale, only 2'x2'. I really need to go big for this kind of painting but I don't have the room for it. The other is an oil pastel piece that is 18"x10". This is one where I've been experimenting with using a heat gun to soften the pastels and then I use my finger to blend them. It works great and I love the smooth transitions between colors. What I don't like is the fact that my finger often encounters a hot patch of 'oil' and I have to grin and bear it until I've finished the stroke.

Speaking of Pollock style paintings I have another one hanging at our local Art Center in a Members Show. I'm asking $350 for it and hoping that it will come home at the end of the show. It has a decent space on our living room wall and it looks sad without it hanging there. But then again, $260 will buy a lot of paint.

I watched the documentary 'Painting Bolinas' the other night. It's a short film detailing some of the last days of the artist Peter Lee Brownlee. It was fascinating. And disturbing, as Peter Lee lived in squalor. He was bedridden at the age of 90 but he never stopped painting. His paintings surrounded his bed and were stuck in every imaginable place in his house. Despite all of this, he seemed to be very happy. Certainly much happier than I would be in that same condition. And at the same time, I envied him his freedom. The film also shows him with his friends as an art show of his works  is being prepared. I recommend the film...

And follow this link for a better view of the phenomena known as Peter Lee Brownlee.

We're still enrolled in a Senior Wellness program at a local gym. Three morning a week of cardio and core strength exercises. Afterwards, I come home and take a shower and then return to the gym for an hour in the pool. I put weights on my ankles and use 'noodles' to support myself while I float; allowing the weights to flex what is left of my normal vertebra. Four of them are fused and will never flex again. I also hope to loosen the hip connections that give me the most pain. Then I treat myself to 10 minutes in the spa at 104 degrees. Aaaahhh! so nice...