PS from Sisyphus

The lake has been pretty calm for the last couple of weeks and there is no ice as of yet. That means the beach is still vulnerable to a big storm. Just to illustrate what a mild storm can do I have a before and after picture from the last little blow. In the first picture you can see a wall of about four feet in height and 35 feet in length running along the base of the bluff parallel to the waterline approximately 15 feet from the surf line.

 In this picture you can see what a moderately powerful storm did to the wall. Some stone is lying in the foreground, but the bulk of the stone from the wall was washed down the beach about fifty yards. I rebuilt it over the next three weekends only to have it washed out a second time. I have managed to put a smaller version in place in the hopes that it will provide a little protection to the bluff in the case of a small storm, but hopefully nothing big will come along before we get some ice dune protection.

Recollections

Been pretty busy the last couple of months getting a show together for Glassgrowers. It ended up being a dozen pieces and for the most part I was pretty pleased with the result. Several of the pieces were the result of the summer trip to Nepal and Tibet. Lots of wonders on that trip including the clarity of the light and the astounding colors. Every temple or monastery that you walked into was a riot of color. For a western trained artist it bordered on anarchy. It was shockingly lovely and a little disturbing.

The painting below is a kaleidoscopic view of Potala palace in Lhasa. This was the newest of the experiments after Strasbourg and Rome. 

 This was my first attempt at understanding the anarchy of color that every temple houses. Textiles, paintings and sculptures are all just celebrations for the eyes. It will take some effort to understand it.

 A little study of light on yak craniums. As subject matter I couldn't resist. I have done a couple of traditional landscapes as well to explore atmosphere.

 Also drawn to water patterns on a koi pond near Potala. There will be more work to do, but I feel I learned some things with this set of paintings.