Quiet goodbye

No bling. No quinacridone fanfare signalling the end of the day. 

A quiet goodbye, a door shut but not latched. A whisper and an ending with edges fuzzed and a light fading like the slowest dimmer switch.

Gentle departure

12 x 12

All is quiet, just the sibilant "slup, slup, slup" of the water against the boat as we hang on the anchor. Nearby, the wet exhale of a seal and I turn to see his head slip below the surface. The air thickens with the incoming fog and I feel the cool moisture softening the edges around me.

We will have no grand sunset tonight. Just the gentle departure of the sun behind the cloud blanket.

Nina Simone "Who Knows Where the Time Goes?"

Carl Sandburg was wrong!

Fog, 48 x 48 pastel on prepared panel

Even at this size, my panel did not bow or bend. My framer, Elizabeth Steinbaugh at Aurora Gallery, says that my success comes from allowing each wet layer (whether gesso, acrylic, or pumice gel) to dry completely with the board perfectly flat and horizontal. I was tempted to prop the board on its end for drying since it took up most of my available counter space, but if I had, I would have had an unusable curved board instead.

This fog did not come in on little cat feet, but rose like a wall to block the sun. Block failed. Sun scored.

Orcas Island Fog

Orcas Island Fog
18 x 24

Under painting

Practice, practice, practice.

You can see how the under painting provides a structure for the pastels on top.

I might re-title this to "Cat Feet" but only those who read Carl Sandburg will understand the reference. What do you think?

The fog comes
on little cat feet.

It sits looking
over harbor and city
on silent haunches
and then moves on.

--- Carl Sandburg, "Fog" 1916