The Time That Is Given Us

The Time That Is Given Us

​The Time That Is Given Us
oil on wood panel
11 x 14 x .25 inches
This item is unframed
(click on the image to purchase)

I wish it need not have happened in my time, said Frodo.
So do I, said Gandalf, and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.
 - J.R.R. Tolkien

I spend a bit of time thinking about, well, time.

The older I am, the faster it goes. The faster it goes, the more precious each day becomes. The more precious the day, the less patience I have with the state of things in the world. And that very impatience distracts from the decision still within my hands - what do do with the time I have in the times in which we live.

And so in this moment, dear readers, I want to thank you.  

Thank you for the gift of the time you spend reading, listening, watching and commenting. Those moments could be spent doing anything - and yet you spend them here with me. That is a huge gift, and I so appreciate you . xo

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A quick shout out to my friend, the artist Carl Stoveland, whose blog just experienced a rebirth! His experience, wisdom and voice is another great gift in the world. Take a read! A worthwhile place to spend some precious time. 

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About the art: In pursuit of an abstracted portrait with a limited color palette (I sometimes work best with one metaphorical hand tied behind my back) I began with a Notan of my own face highly simplified into light and shadow. I chose reds and yellows as my primary colors, and began blocking the darks in with red over a piece of gesso'd wood panel.  The goal was to keep things loose, resist over defining and allow the addition of a small amount of cool tones to set the piece off.  In the end, I embraced a more geometric approach (following the paint) and worked wet into wet to achieve the various shades of warm tones. The impact is punchy! Yes!

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