As noted elsewhere on my website, I work my day job to help pay the bills, and dabble in painting to keep cheerful. Like so many of you, my most recent work week differed in that I entered the brave new world of teleworking for what will be an as yet unknown length of time. My job is at the Virginia Department of Health, meaning that as work weeks go, it was a blankety-blanker. It will continue thus for who knows how long.
I can now say unequivocally that I know heroes. I work with amazing and dedicated and bright people who, when put to the test, rise. From the "powers that be" working seemingly 24/7 to manage the crisis to the boots on the ground willing to do anything to aid the cause to the pluggers willing to give all to maintain necessary continuity - VDH employees are living examples of dedication to higher things. And it has been wonderful to see this in so many other places: churches, elder care facilities, neighborhoods, stores. Everywhere, in fact, with the glaring exception of the pinheads partying on Florida's beaches.
Sidebar prayer: Oh God, please forgive me if I was anywhere near that stupid and awful when I was in college.
The Wednesday Night Paint Group is currently practicing social distancing. We had a funny email conversation this week, which began with one member joking that maybe she would do a painting of a roll of toilet paper. This led to a more serious concept. Maybe each of us could consider painting something, anything, inspired by the coronavirus world we all now struggle through. I'm thrilled by the notion, and hope to see some real creativity from the gang.
The work in progress you see in the attached photo is not part of that challenge. No, it is a watercolor of a waterfall. Not any particular waterfall that I am aware of, more from imagination. It's kind of like the many waterfalls in New York's Finger Lakes region, but only kind of. It's reminiscent of some of Virginia's lovely waterfalls, but, again, not really. It's mainly me playing around loosely with color and geometry. If it has anything to do with coronavirus, it's that what starts as a tiny trickle up top spreads wider and faster with each new cascade. Not that that's an intentional goal of the painting. In fact, I just realized it while writing this. The nice thing is that there is a calm pool when the water returns to the horizontal landscape. So there's hope.
The painting, like the times we now all live through, is not finished. But it eventually will be.
Hang in there everybody.
