Wednesday Smorgasbord

"Numinous Sunset" - mixed media on clayboard, 16" x 20".  Ready for framing.

A dear friend recently posted a sunset photo which took my breath away.  It was brilliant and dark, straight-angled and organic, perfectly balanced and yet off-kilter.  It mesmerized me.  The image was in my mind for days, and sent me into the studio to translate it into something abstract.  It was the perfect opportunity to play with layers of blue in the background...every shade, many layers, deep and mysterious and dark.  How I love blue!  This is the first piece on clayboard, a support which I will use again because it allows some incredible texture.

There is a visual smorgasbord in the world all around me.  Not just the beauty of south Florida sunsets, ocean, waterfowl and marine life.  Even social media...photos, so gorgeous.  Art posted by artists around the world which makes me yell with excitement - WHAT?  NO WAY!  INCREDIBLE!  My son's new art creations which flow so easily - how does he DO that?  Even words on a page, so beautiful I have to pause and appreciate them for a moment.

Which brings me to my dog. (What?  You are wondering where this train is headed, right?)  Our pooch is 16 years old, which makes him over 110 in people years.  He is deaf, has heart failure, cancer in his leg and kidneys which have decided to quit.  None of this has slowed him down or diminished his joy of life.  But just this week, his vision started to go.  He's been walking into porch screens, unable to locate the door.  And for the first time, he seems bothered by the loss.

Perhaps I am projecting my own dismay onto this tenacious, scrappy dog.  A loss of access to the visual eye-candy of life would send me reeling!  He has made me feel very grateful for my own vision (such as it is, with coke-bottle lenses) and determined not to take it for granted.  In the meantime, we will focus on his sense of smell and taste, and bring that smile back to his furry face.  Oh, and maybe gently help him find the door.