Mystery of the Capitol Cake

Dear Family and Friends,
Yesterday morning Zing! and I were the only ones on Capitol Mall so we decided to walk down the middle, on the lawn, not the sidewalk. After a few steps we came upon a cake sitting silently amid  the dandelions -- double layer, frosted and studded with strawberries. It looked like one slice was missing, although that part had melted into itself. We circled it as if it was a wild thing -- it was real and strange. Zing! didn't try to eat any and neither did I. Maybe it was an offering to the gods. We didn't want to mess with it. This morning there was no trace of cake.

Are you stumbling on such wondrous surprises?
Love,
k

Zing! and the Capitol Cake

Talking and painting and hardly alone

Dear Family and Friends,

I just left a Zoom conversation with my friend Lesley in Philadelphia. The app intimidated me at first,
And here are the last two pieces I painted in Este MacCloud's online watercolor class.

Love,
k

#exploreshapes
#quarantine

12" x 16"
I have to give Este MacCloud credit for this countryside scene. I was practicing techniques -- the scene is hers

10" x 14"
Este MacCloud also directed this picture; it feels more like me than the one above

Doing great, Right?

People ask me how I'm doing and I say Great, but there's a rumbling underneath that reply, like earth before a quake. I feel the uncertainty. Is it the same for you?

Here are some photos, including more paintings from the watercolor class.  I'm still working on the final project, a simple landscape.

Mixed media
10" x 14"

Watercolor
10" x 14"

The golden poppy is California's state flower
It's blooming now
This is near the American River

Zing! this morning on Capitol Mall

A neighbor left this thyme plant at my door today

Painting keeps me off the streets

Hi!
I've been taking a three-week online class about watercolor. The artist-teacher is Este MacLeod, and I am learning plenty. As a retired teacher, I can see that MacLeod has got this online class stuff down perfectly. I signed up for it before the little world-wide breather we're all taking, and timing couldn't be more perfect. Keeps me busy and off the streets.

Here are some pieces I've painted in the last two weeks. The class is about materials and technique, so I'm really just following Este's directions. She encourages free gesture, putting aside the inner critic, and having fun -- all the while layering colors, working with wetness, and getting to know different  brushes.

Love,
k
#exploreshapes  #explorecolour

26 hats

26 mushrooms

weaving letters

my favorite so far

Love this kind of graceful azalea 

supposed to resemble Polish embroidery

The sun

my second-favorite so far

Taking it easy with Zing!

Dear Friends,

Zing! is still slightly groggy, sleeping on the turquoise daybed where I am typing. Friday he had a little white growth removed from his right eye. He’s been grumpy ever since because he’s trapped in one of those cone collars to protect the stitches. He grumbled all the way home from the vet and one minute after we got home he had pawed it off his head. Then he sat in my lap and let me put it back on. By now I think he’s resigned to it. We’ve got two weeks of this!

I’m taking a course called Mindful Self-Compassion, led by a married couple who are therapists. We’re learning ways to be gentle with ourselves — the first step is to realize we often talk to ourselves critically. So, give yourself a break and everything gets better!

I was surprised there are more than 30 people of all ages in the class, and maybe a fourth are men. 

Here are some drawings from the past few days. I love them even though they’re messy — The idea is to look at your subject, not at your paper. It’s actually fun.

Love,

k

I've been drinking more tea lately
with honey

Green velvet chair

Paint on studio table

A longer break than planned

Dear Friends,
It’s not that nothing has happened, it’s just that I’ve stopped writing about it. I’ve been on a longer break than planned. 
From these 3+ years of sending blogs to you I’ve learned so much:
1. You are with me. 
2. Most days are interesting, in a good way. 
3. Some are not. 


I’m going to continue, though not daily, maybe weekly.  Things are evolving.  There are so many ways to communicate. If you have any ideas, let me know!

Love,
k

Here are some recent pictures:

Flowers at Patrice and Jay's
Patrice loves color and it shows
Key Biscayne
Christmas Eve

Blue vases on a shelf in my bedroom at Key Biscayne

Papyrus by the pool
Key Biscayne

San Diego
I think this view is from near the zoo
I went to San Diego last month with my neighbor Sandy
Our old neighbors Kate and Jack led us on a great tour of the city

Kate painted this watercolor of Zing!

Deep Creek

Deep Creek: Finding Hope in the High Country by Pam Houston
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I got this book because Pam Houston is speaking at the Stories on Stage event soon here in Sacramento. Then I found out she is a writing professor at nearby UC Davis. And then I found out she is a highlight of a writers' conference in Grass Valley in the hills soon. I signed up for both events and finished the book yesterday. I've got to admit I skipped a few pages, but when I finished I certainly love Houston. She simply states some troubling family issues and swiftly skims her love life. It's all as if she means it anyway. What her writing means most is that she loves her Colorado acreage and animals, and by the end you kind of do too.


View all my reviews