I love the wild parrots! 
This is a very controversial statement to make in LA, where the racket of these birds roosting by friends homes is a sore spot. I do not live in proximity to a rookery, and encounter the parrots at the height of golden hour when they head home. Their sound is loud, but not like passing ambulance sirens. It causes me to look up from reading and away from the computer. It is a natural noise, in the manufactured landscape. The parrots are an indicator of this other life that continues in other rhythms, a life that adheres to something other than a syllabus. The parrots cacophony is a delightful alarm clock going off and reminding me to delight in the changing of the light. 
The wild parrots also remind me of Mary Olivers' Wild Geese:
You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.
Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting -
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.

May you experience the delight of having your place in the family of things announced. 

As I have started feeling better I have begun reading books again. Those of you that know me well, or have known me for a long time know that I LOVE BOOKS! Always have & always will. When I was younger the most grievous punishment my parents could inflict was to ground me from my extracurricular reading.... #NERDALERT I hadn't even realized I was no longer pursuing long form reading, thinking that perhaps my interests had shifted & that I was no longer into books. Nope, that was pernicious bacteria taking over. I LOVE BOOKS! Some wonderful books I have read in the past few months include, Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card, The Dirty Life by Kristen Kimball, Dirt Work by Christine Byl & Midnight in Siberia by David Greene.
The crux of each book
​Ender's Game; "When I understand my enemy well enough to kill him, in that moment I also love him." I recommend reading the entire series! 
The Dirty Life: Sometimes the life you think you want is not the life for you. And the life for you might be much more complicated & hard, but it will be satisfying. 
Dirt Work: What does it mean to labor? Is there value in physically draining work? 
Midnight in Siberia: Excellent perspective shifter on Russian values. 
John Green posted a Vlogbrothers video this week that I have included below. It is the inspiration for this post. 

People often ask, "How would you describe your work?" I say that I am an abstract landscape painter. This is often met with confused looks. I think this painting in tandem with the video clip below adequately encompassses this concept. 
I employed only at Winsor & Newton Water Colour Marker to do this painting. And while I still prefer my brush it was good to see that enough pigment is dispersed to allow for a salt reaction. 

The clouds were spectacular last week. And I had the opportunity to fly thru them. Enjoy the view! Happy Wednesday Y'all! 

The Amen of nature is always a flower.
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.

Here are photos & a little bonus video of some of the flowers I observed over the past month. I always marvel at the diversity of blooms & colors, & think this batch runs the whole gamut. Happy Thursday Y'all! 

This series continues to intrigue me & I find myself learning more about the manipulation of the paint. I love that that practice provides knowledge & continue to get lost in the mini-universes that form in the making of these paintings. If you are interested in more things art & practice related check out this video by Sarah Urist Green. She illustrates the importance of intent in art. Happy Friday Y'all! 

William Kentridge is an artist I greatly admire. His kinetic drawing style, combined with a sense of whimsy, tackles huge issues, both personal & global, with seeming ease. Kentridge eloquently gets at the heart of art-making with his discussion on the seriousness of play. It is almost as if when you are too distracted by the ART you can't make it, but if you allow yourself some leeway/play the art happens. I hope that you enjoy his work as much as I do & strongly encourage you to watch the longer documentary. It is well worth your time. Happy Wednesday Y'all! 

Yesterday the weather was gorgeous & friends with a boat were calling. No brainer, skip the studio, for a day & go outside. It was so worth it! In this clip you can see a dolphin surfacing thru the wake multiple times. Below are some observed shadows & the tide gullies running thru the pluff mud. Plenty of things to see & inform my studio practice, but while I was out there all I had to do was enjoy. Happy Tuesday Y'all!