A little ART film...

I know my blogging has fallen off of late... what can I do? I'm out of ideas! Yes, the bottomless pit has run dry.

Although I'd like to claim it's because my inner soul is trying to hibernate, I can only make feeble excuses. But here's just what you've been waiting for... an ART film!

I've been playing around with iMovie and my ancient Oympus Camera, which really isn't much of a movie making device. But it's mostly just for fun.



My only hope is that the viewer won't fall asleep halfway though. It was filmed down at the Montlake Fill, a wild place that used to be a dump, but now it's like a place in the country, even though it's quite nearby. And it's filled with wildlife... amazing birds & critters of every sort..

red tailed hawks,
osprey,
harrier hawks,
muskrats,
nutria,
kingfishers,
grebes,
bald eages,
golden eagles,
canada geese,
sandpipers,
downy woodpeckers,
pheasants,
kingfishers,
wood ducks,
peeps,
virginia rails,
blue winged teals,
buffleheads,
box turtles,
soft shelled turtles,
and giant great blue herons....

And crows, of course... lots of crows.

(actually I do have some new ideas... but like they say, Bees make honey in the dark)

Out & About... Looking at Art!

It's time to be out and about! Gallery hopping with my brother Dave, who is a fine artist. These are some of the steep downtown hills. Seattle's downtown was built directly on an earthquake escarpment, hence the sudden change of altitude.


A downtown waterfall! How unexpected...


Finally, some Art. Let's give it a proper look now... very interesting!


Better and better! I luv it!


This is good too! I'd have never thought of that.


And finally a Museum exhibit. Something to think about... well I guess it's home to my acrylics for me.

Some things I like...

I like the sound of storms outside when snug under a blanket...
and the smell of Christmas trees inside on the first day.
I like the light indoors in the evening on snowy days... and of course I like snowy days in general.

I like the smell of pancakes on Saturday mornings...
Saturdays in general... a day without any obligations and you know there's another weekend day behind it... (though I can't abide Sundays for some reason)

I like the smell of freshly painted empty rooms... with newspapers on the floor... especially when mixed in with the aroma of brewing coffee
and one very peculiar feeling that I absolutely relish is being trapped in a room behind large boxes or the refridgerator (like on moving day). I've read that autistic people like that too...

I like opening cans of coffee and remembering things I haven't thought of in years...
I like brand new shiny bicycles... and new tennis shoes...
I like how chocolate bars look when they're all wrapped up in shiny foil and unopened... they're almost like gold bullion



I like how the grass smells after it's cut...
I like when the bird feeder gets crowded with dozens of excited birds
I like my hummingbirds... I like everything there is about hummingbirds

I like the warm rattly sound that the fan in my electric room heater makes on days like this.

New Year's Resolution Checkup

Well the year is almost up and it's time to check up and see how I did. *The resolutions are marked with an asterisk:

*I will use only the freshest brand of Wax Paper.
(check - this I achieved with little effort)

*I will spend more time painting on canvas and think BIG.
(half check - I could have painted more. I've put Donald Trump's book on hold 'How to Think Big and Kick Ass'... maybe that will help)

*I will work harder to avoid all nagging details and keep after my dreams.
(half check - could have tried harder. The Devil is in the details...)

*I will paint my way through the forgotten back roads of the West, driving a 1947 Ford. I will sleep in the back seat and eat at picturesque diners.
(no check at all, Dang! And this one sounded really good too.)

*I will search looking for landscapes to capture on canvas in simple shapes with no more than 3 simple colors.
(half a check)

*I will spend two weeks in a moss covered woods, watching owls... I will keep a campfire going day and night.
(check - I did spend 3 days in the moss covered woods... and I saw some owls!)

*I will spend more time living in the past and only occasionally drift into the present.
(check, check and re-check)

*I will wear plaid shirts or blue cotton shirts for weeks on end.
(check - this I achieved with little effort. Boxers changed more frequently, of course.)

*I will unplug my telephone and look for wooded property in the country... with a view.
(check - I did scan the real estate listings. Phone is frequently left off hook.)

*I will visit Paris and London dressed in corduroy and visit out of the way museums and cafes.
(no check at all. And this one sounded really good too.)

*I will move into a houseboat with a mysterious, attractive foreigner who speaks only dutch
(no check at all, Dang! I knew this one sounded too good to be true!)

*I will finally get a new futon frame to put in the basement and toss out the old couch!
(check, check and re-check. However it must be noted that I failed to paint the south side of the house. Must leave something for next year!)

Autumnal Pix at Random

Might autumn be the most poetic of seasons?


It's pointless trying to compete with Nature with a paintbrush...


A path diverged in the Woods...


The days are short... the light is fleeting


And back by popular demand... the Totem Poles!

Ring, Ring... Don't Ring!

Ring, Ring... Don't Ring!

That's the freelancer's dilemma. When you're busy, the last thing anyone wants is one more call. When you're not busy, the telephone starts growing cobwebs and assumes the timeless pose of the Sphinx.

The problem is, there's only one of me... I'm the bottleneck in the workflow. Lately I've been working so hard my whole arm & hand ache... shoulder pains, fingers aching... you name it. All from just pushing a pencil around for hours every day.

So at this point I'm thinking definitely 'Don't Ring!'... but of course things can change so quickly.

The photos are the work of the local artists who lived in the rich rain forests of the Northwest 150 years ago. I suppose instead of just deadlines they had things like grizzly bears and cougars and marauding tribes to contend with.



Their carvings are amazing... along with their weaving, baskets, carved ivory, beadwork and all.

They lived in giant cedar houses with totem poles near the entrance... and each family had their own little room around the edges of the communal lodge.

Of course there was a fireplace in the center... must have been something living like that.
There's a gorgeous museum up in Vancouver that really does their artwork justice.

My bike ride...

The choice is simple in this line of work... excercise or die!

I choose bike riding & walking... an amiable mix. It accomadates both excercise, scenery and utility in doing errands. And it's heaven to get out of the studio after being trapped all day long pushing around pencils, erasers and wacoms.


First I go down a big hill and a mile along this bike trail...


Then go up a big hill to arrive at this fountain reminiscent of Rome... where I meditate on all of life's travails.


The outlook is classic. Faux Elizabethan mixed with an english country church. Is that Notre Dame in the distance?


A little political strife livens up the forum...


And a final bit of relaxation in a sequestered courtyard... so that's why I like my bike ride.

Nothing quite so nice as the wind in one's face, zipping along at speed, getting along somewhere.
The best way to get errands done too... getting all the frustrations of driving out by zipping
through red lights, cutting corners, sneaking up on sidewalks, going the wrong way on streets,
and generally being a rule-breaking-traffic guerilla.

It's the ideal form of excercise, since it's so much fun it requires little in the way of will power.

My Place in Publishing

That's me! You probably didn't notice... but it is me.
There, near the back... almost all the way in the back.
The one with the hat on.

The area in the lower left is reserved for 'Prize Winners'.
I didn't quite manage somehow.
The yellowish area is for 'Notable Books of Merit'. Doggone! I tried... really I did! Don't we all try our best?

Actually I think everyone in publishing has to feel fairly overwhelmed most of the time. I sure got that impression at the ALA convention last year, surrounded by zillions of books. It's almost impossible for anyone to stand out, I think.



The other photo features some of my latest rejection letters. I had a spare 5 minutes one sunny morning, and I felt like spreading them all out to take a picture of.

Sometimes I feel like giving up... but that's just par for the course. Somehow I manage to regain a new foothold and persist in my folly. I think the trick is you're supposed to enjoy the process... or something like that.

The problem is that its so easy to imagine other pursuits of folly. Follies that might be even more fun & rewarding.

The Photographer's Food Chain

The Hunters... swarming like sharks in the shallows, tripods set for the quarry.


The Hunted... a blaze of autumnal color. Like moths to the flame they come.


The wonders of Nature are everywhere... even hiding under bushes.


A serene set of sails departs for sunnier ports in the distance...

Autumnal Moments

Sitting in: The dark at 6 am... thanks to this daylight savings time nonsense!



Sniffing: The scent of woodsmoke, as winter's chill seems well upon us.

Staring at: This blue-daylight-mood-light. Not sure if it even works, but the first step is to try & make the effort at least.

Wishing I could: Hibernate! Why not? It's clearly the better choice... bears do it, turtles do it, why can't I? I'm not sure if the blue light thingy even works...

Dressed in: Polartec... in which I shall remain from now until May most likely.

Wondering if: Tierra Del Fuego really ought to participate in Seattle's sister city program.

Amazed at: Yet one more weird mushroom I've never seen before. You simply would not believe the sorts of fungii that sprout up around here!



Delighted to see: A wonderful pastiche of autumnal colors... muted in the rain.



Noticing with disbelief: All the football games on TV seem to take place in cities where the sun actually shines...

How Freelancing Works...

The Country Mouse

There's nothing like a trip to the country to bring out the 'Country Mouse' in me.


Newly cut corn fields are filled with 100's of crows & blackbirds... all making a ruckus.


Blackberry hedges run all along the roads... they're impentrable unless you're a mouse.


Clouds in the river...


An aged & bent old maple tree has seen many a Halloween night.


I always come home and start looking through the real estate ads... until gradually I remember I'm still probably a City Mouse, despite my inklings. But it sure is nice to visit on a sunny autumn afternoon.