WORD PAINTINGS #135 (How I came to New Mexico and Learned about Life and Art)
19 August 2023 (Llano Quemado, New Mexico) – Remnants of a HURRICANE are headed our way! The outer bands of rain are predicted for sometime tomorrow. The last major storm headed through Mexico and the California Coast 84 years ago in September 1939 – the month I was born!! Headed straight for Baja and deep into California. Latest update: the storm is edging eastward. People boarding up their windows, loading sandbags – preparing for disastrous flooding. People in Florida are still recovering from their hellish storm last year. Devastation is quick – recovery is slow. The winds are picking up this afternoon – waiting for rain! Fires, floods, pandemics…..
84 years later….Wondering if this is an omen – that I have come full circle and now it is time to pack up my easel and put my paints and brushes away! As mentioned in an earlier post, the prolonged heat wave knocked the stuffing out of me. Now that the weather is cooler am finding it difficult to regain my momentum. Damn!!! Blocked in small studies and set out a palette of fresh paints – maybe tomorrow….
The Indictments are also taking their toll….we are going into Season 70 of the hellish Tr__pathon! This is way more serious than previous political clown shows in that the news is so pervasive and shocking – and as a nation we are numb from the blatant insanity. A nation with a bad case of PTSD! Spoke with a beloved relative yesterday. He began a rant on children in his state being read graphic sex stories in the first grade….and parents turning their children trans through unnecessary surgeries. There was no use arguing – this is what he truly believes and I love him dearly. Told him as gently as I could that we are on opposite sides, but I am heartbroken!!! SAD……I really want to go back to bed and stay there forever! It is no comfort that many other families are in this same position with loved ones. Note:(Had
a strong sponsor in AA 38 years ago. Whenever I had a serious case of “monkey-mind” she
would quietly tell me to “Do whatever makes you Sane!!!)
Okay, Donna – Knockers up!!! I would love to wallow in the sadness for at least a week, but my motto is “As long as there is breath in my body, I need to keep moving”!!! Pulling out the monumental George Carlson tome of his art and career and plan to be inspired once more. Am always energized by his work. Then a book on Victor Higgins and at least an hour of staring at my all-time favorite painting called “A Winter Funeral”. It might take me until Monday to cleanse out the dust and grime collected during this dry spell – total immersion in my art life.) By that time Hurricane Hillary (oh, the irony) should be downgraded to a tropical storm!
Coming up Next – Chapter Two of “Dreams of Distant Places – ART GODS AND LIFE ARROWS).
“HUICHOL” Pastel on Sanded paper by Donna Clair – At the International Folk art Museum, Santa Fe, New Mexico
