Dog Days of Summer
Wilbur, my boss dog
After the afternoon thunderstorm the air smells new and the light is so fresh…almost fragile.The muggy smell of brown heat that has plagued us all summer is washed away (almost) and there is this moment of a million possibilities. I love the summer with all of its madness…from the bad banjo sound of the green frogs, the giant dragonflies, the bunnies that eat everything, the night owl visits, the plants that don’t grow to the weedy mess that does…I love every single moment of this drama season. I used to bein a band and one of my favorite songs to sing was Summertime. I could relate…summertime and the livin’ is easy.
I give myself breaks in the summer. I laugh more. I don’t listen to the news as much. Instead I wake up early just to hear the dawn chorus. I stroll instead of walk. I sway to the music in my head instead of standing straight. Somehow, I’m more full of wonder, less old, more childlike. I try new things with my art. I don’t edit myself as much. I become a risk taker with my work, exploring new ways of making that connection with color and shapes. I junk up my house and my studio space with endless art projects just to try something new. I pack little bags of silly stuff to take with me wherever I go in case I have a spare moment to do something fun.
This summer I’ve started making consistently bigger art. I was the queen of the 8 x 8 for years which I still love but I’m hooked on trying bigger pieces. I bought several large (for me) panel boards, 3 x 4 feet and 4 x 4 feet. I want to move my arms wide with loaded brushes so I can paint wide arcs of color. I want to splatter wet paint and then scrub in messy forms to bring meaning. I want to celebrate all I have right now and lose myself in living. I want to throw down the old, the loss, the sadness, the aloneness and the fear, conquering them all with rich, abundant color. I want to paint possibilities and hope. This is my summertime fever.
Sirius will soon rise and set with the sun. Change is coming. The hottest days are supposedly before us and then we see the gradual shortening of the days. The end of summer. What a beautiful messy dream.