Funk This !!!

Let me be clear. I am not complaining. I am making an observation.
Today was stupid hot. It isn't the heat that is my nemesis. It is the AIR QUALITY! OMG!! the funk of it!This afternoon, it has been like huffing itty bitty chips of hot concrete into my lungs. Even dogs on the bike trail, were pacing themselves like old ladies in too tight shoes. I may have even had a split second fantasy about working at Dairy Queen instead of being a painter.....the heat.

Perhaps there was a hallucinogenic factor working on me, but the upside was the incredible atmospheric effects in the Ravine! There was this amazing glow around the creek, and since I didn't hear any voices, or see any famous religious people, I'm thinking it was the light. I insist, it was the light!

Because the sun was so high, it was a bust for the famous subtle coloration of Walhalla Ravine, but there were these amazing sharp edges and high contrasts everywhere. Not at all inspiring for painting(and I did drink all the water I'd brought), but these were excellent conditions for doing some drawings of the area and detailed studies of pattern ,texture, and natural peculiarities.
***soapbox alert!soapbox alert!*** Taking the time to do things like pages of specific leaves,rocks,bark- makes for a serious arsenal in your process. I consider it the equal to painting a portrait that is the likeness of someone, not just of a person posed. It is very easy in this genre of painting to make work that is easily overwhelmed with a color story and lose its depth and the originality of the landscape. Especially with watercolor painting, places where there is a clear contour is essential to the composition. So be serious about your details, if you want to be making serious work.To quote George Clinton, "you can't fake the funk!"***soapbox down! soapbox down!***
Okay!Sometimes the heat can make a painter cranky.....
Anyway, under serious threat of heat stroke, I took myself and my little drawings to DQ,I mean back to my studio. Seriously, I did stimulate the economy with a Peanutbuster Parfait, then I went home(passed the gym,'cause it is hot!). Having been revived, I will sort out my studies and see if the funk's for real!

M.







So, under threat of heat stroke