Ars Longa Vita Brevis

"TO EVERY STEED A STUMBLE"

-- Arabic Proverb 
(Li Kulli Jawad Kabwah)

We all know we need to watch our step as we get older and this past week I got a rude reminder. I was at LittleJohn Island Preserve, a rocky point with small sandy beach and lots of slippery, seaweed-covered rocks. It is a beautiful, secluded spot where I have been many times. I hiked out with a knapsack of water, paper and painting supplies for a little impromptu plein air work. Once at the shore, to get the view I wanted I had to climb down over some fairly large boulders. I got there, set up and did a few 7 x 10 sketches on a block of rough grain Arches watercolor paper, including the one above. The view is looking east from LittleJohn Island Preserve toward Chebeague Island, with Whaleboat Island and South Harpswell on the far horizon.

When I packed up to go, I shouldered the knapsack and lost my balance as I got up. I grabbed a large granite boulder and managed to regain my footing. In the process I smashed my left hand, right knee and right big toe hard into a jagged rock. Two ladies walking their dogs down below called out, "Are you all right?" I thanked them and said yes, just a scrape. They came up, said, "Are you sure?" and asked if they could see what I had been painting. I shared it with them.

In fact, my hand and knee were both bleeding and my toe hurt like hell. I wished I had had the sense to wear long pants and hard-soled shoes. Later, when I got home, I saw that the big toe had turned purple. To be precise, it was dioxazine violet, or Winsor Violet, a rich dark purple. I applied ice. Now, after several days of limping, the Winsor Violet has morphed into Alizarin Crimson, around a garish Lavender and Caerulean toenail.

This episode reminded me of an Arabic proverb -- li kulli jawad kabwah, which means literally, "to every steed a stumble". It is often deployed in tandem with other comparisons, including wa li kulli 'aalim hafwah, i.e. "and to every sage a lapse". The basic idea is that nobody's perfect and we all stumble once in a while.

In any case, lesson learned.

But I will continue to venture out.

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Watercolor Workshop with Keiko Tanabe

Last month I was privileged to take part in a watercolor workshop in Rockland with the great Japanese-American watercolor painter Keiko Tanabe. Keiko is a gracious instructor, entirely self-taught and I admire her work greatly. She offered tips on gear for plein air work, her color palette, her brushes and even her thought process as she worked through our daily demos. I will do my best to put some of this into practice in my own work in the coming year.

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New Work: 

-- Intertidal: (based on a plein air drawing and reference photo from Winslow Park in South Freeport)

-- On the Dock: (inspired by the working dock at Spruce Head)

-- Live Lobster: (a small experimental abstract)

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New Framed Giclee Print on Offer via Etsy:

-- Trout Fishing - Season's First Catch

Here is a link to a video and photos showing how this framed print is printed on deckled-edge paper, floated over a silver gray mat, protected by museum-quality anti-reflective and anti-UV glazing and packed for shipping. I recently made it available in my Etsy store. 

Perfect for camp. Only $200, free shipping. Check it out.