February has been an insane month.   I began a new job at the beginning of the month.  Then this week, I began two other very part time jobs in addition to the day one.  All the while, I haven't been sleeping well and waking with a pinched nerve which makes for painful leg movement until I'm up and walking for a bit....due to the fact that my bed bit the dust.   New bed arriving next week.  

This has created much exhaustion.  I enjoy the jobs but they all happened at the same time which can be a little crazy-making.  I haven't had any any energy left over to paint.   But I've been dealing with getting my work out and about...again in Seattle, including shipping a painting to be part of an installation.

Hopefully I can touch the canvas tomorrow while in the studio.  This is the last painting I did almost 3 weeks ago.  It's 24"x18", oil on canvas.  

Early in the morning heading to work...

Monday, on Westminster St.   The shovel brigade.  :-)

About 10 am today I finally managed to get my car out and tooled downtown for a bit.  It's been raining all day and the temps are quite a bit above freezing.  As you can imagine, the streets and sidewalks are quite a mess.   Large slushy puddles and no room for the quick melting snow.

Photo taken on my way home after my quick little excursion.

Photos from a short walk I took last night.  Our street still isn't plowed.   SUV's and trucks can get through okay but small cars like mine keep getting stuck.  I may not be going anywhere tomorrow.  We shall see.

I'm hankering for a longer walk but don't have the boots yet.   For the last two weeks, I kept telling myself to buy snow boots but because I loathe shopping, I didn't.   This morning I ordered boots from Lands End and will be getting them in a couple days.   I want to explore my snowy white world on foot!

Beautiful morning on my street.  And folks are still digging out. 

More photos from Storm Nemo here in Providence RI, all taken around my home this morning.

It's 8:30 pm and we are about one third of the way through Storm Nemo.   Fortunately I still have power although 3 blocks away there is no power and College Hill is also in the dark.  Photo taken from my front door.

Thought I prepped yesterday until I realized I was almost out of peppermint oil.  It's fantastic stuff for keeping the mice away and I didn't want to run out during the storm.  So a rare Whole Foods trip this morning for the oil.  It was a mob scene but people, including the cashiers, were cheery.  Home to settle in and 3 hrs later realized I was dangerously low on half and half.  Trekked to corner store.  Then I turned into the liquor store to replenish the fireball whiskey.   My new Sunday gig with children's book author postponed until next week.   Three days of hunkering down and relaxing....with a little computer work, reading and drawing in the mix.  It was snowing early this morning.   Wind is picking up a little.  Still snowing.  

Normally when I do play paintings, they tend to begin as still lifes.  Yesterday, after working another painting, I didn't want to think about anything and so simply began quickly grabbing whatever color was on my palette and moved paint around.   It's like playing in a sandbox.  And the bourbon didn't hurt.  

30"x40", oil on canvas.

(Photo isn't very good.)

Today, after a short studio stint I came home to chill.  This afternoon I figured that I'd hit the gym during the Super Bowl because it would be quieter, hence perfect.  And it was.   But when I returned home I realized the game wasn't for another couple hours.   Clearly I am still on Seattle time.

Three years ago, on my 50th birthday, a good friend gifted me with a bottle of bourbon.  I hadn't opened it because I was waiting for the right moment.   Oddly, today just before painting I knew it was time.   I dug into my stash of still packed boxes in my studio storage closet and found a box labelled "kitchen stuff and bourbon".  There was the bottle, all safely packaged in loads of bubble wrap.

Sometimes the perfect moment isn't about trumpets and rainbows.  Sometimes, it just is.

Began a new temp job today.   Loving it because not only am I working with invoices and inventory, but there's a good vibe in the warehouse.   Everyone I met is really nice.  And as a bonus, it was lightly snowing on my way home.

Yesterday I spent a very special afternoon at the Danforth Museum of Art in Framingham, MA experiencing "Eternal Presence" and the retrospective of master artist John Wilson and then enjoying the artist talk with Mr. Wilson.  It was a privilege having the opportunity to listen to him speak.

I've been in love with his work since the mid-nineties.   In addition to being a brilliant draughtsman and printmaker, he is the artist who won the commission to do the MLK bust in the Capitol Rotunda in D.C.

He was born in 1922 in Roxbury, MA and spoke of going to museums and never seeing art that looked like him.   His passion for drawing led to a prolific career as an artist and teacher.   He said that he always had a strong desire to communicate his reality visually, through mark making.

Wow.  It's been and still is so cold that our baseboard heat in the apartment can't keep up.   My roommate had the day off and so I invited her into the studio because it's quite toasty there.  She brought her art supplies and after rearranging the bottles on my windowsill, spent a warm and calm afternoon happily painting the still life while I tackled a new charcoal drawing.

Wow.  Yesterday just flew.  I had hoped to paint and begin some charcoal drawings but spent the day packing and shipping work to customers.  Then dinner/drinks with a new friend.

This weekend I am very much looking forward to seeing a retrospective at the Danforth Museum in Framingham.  The artist will be there to speak about his work.   The first time I experienced John Wilson's work was in the mid-nineties.  Our prof took us to the MFA in Boston to see Dialogue:  John Wilson and Joseph Norman.   That show made a powerful impact on me and to this day, I still think of it often.

So seeing a show filled with Wilson's creations is super exciting.  

Here is information about the exhibit, Eternal Presence

This is an etching by John Wilson:  Martin Luther King, Jr. 2002

Since I purchased my iPad mini last month, I've been experimenting with Sketchbook Express and am enjoying it.  I have a bunch of drawings in progress.  Here are two that are finally completed.  I do not have a stylus and so it's all finger work.

We The People...

I wanted to watch the inauguration with lots of people. Last night I saw the state Dems were hosting a viewing event at Rick's Roadhouse in Prov. It was good...and perfect to be with a crowd for the experience. At the end I was interviewed by Channel 6 ABC news and when the reporter asked me the first question, I answered along the lines of - that as a queer person I am incredibly moved to be mentioned by this president. We are not invisible.

I also answered many more questions and spoke of how substantial change happens in an excruciatingly slow manner: two steps forward, one step back.  I also vocalized my hope for compromise by the parties.  Although I have an ideal, I know that nothing can be done if each stands solid and refuses to engage with the other. 

From Obama's second inaugural: 

We, the people, declare today that the most evident of truths – that all of us are created equal – is the star that guides us still; just as it guided our forebears through Seneca Falls, and Selma, and Stonewall; just as it guided all those men and women, sung and unsung, who left footprints along this great Mall, to hear a preacher say that we cannot walk alone; to hear a King proclaim that our individual freedom is inextricably bound to the freedom of every soul on Earth.

Here is the full transcript of President Obama's speech.

 "Faith is taking the first step even when you can't see the whole staircase." 
- Martin Luther King, Jr.   

Here is a still in progress Beach painting. 40"x30", oil on canvas.

Other than painting on Monday, the remainder of my studio time has been immersed in getting my financials in order.  Because I'm feeling the pressure of deadlines, it has pretty much sucked any creative space including taking photos.  My large work table is now covered with neat piles of receipts and papers.  And many post-its.  This morning I finally purchased a full size keyboard for my laptop which greatly assists with whizzing through excel.   After a delightful brunch at the Modern Diner with Lewis and Ian who came down for a Brown wrestling match I'm back at my desk.    This WILL be finished by tomorrow afternoon.   Dang it, I want to get back to art making.   Here are some studio posies I shot earlier in the week.

My backyard on a snowy Providence morning.

A watched pot...