Sidetracked Charley

Breeze across a pond Just a few random thoughts before I depart to Santa Fe and the eye surgery which will restore great sight to my right eye. If there has been an upside to this ordeal it is the support of friends. And also the opportunity to share experience, strength and hope with others. I think we all are on some level afraid of going blind; especially as we age. And of course the medical/insurance complex fosters this and fans the flames. I was frankly shocked that following the insurance reforms with ACA, which put many of the 'Wellness" tests for medicare subjects ahead of the deductible and sans copay, that seeing an eye doctor yearly did not fall into that category. And cataract surgery patients still had the copay. At one time blindness was the leading cause of death in third world countries because that person was useless once glaucoma ruined his vision or cataracts forever clouded his vision. And certainly when it comes to the cost of supportive care of

Friday is the awaited cataract surgery on the right eye. This rapidly developing late unset cataract has been a daily surprise for me. And I have been looking for ways to explain it to myself and others. Today for instance my computer screen was painful to look at. It was just too white. And too bright. I toyed with putting sunglasses on over my reading glasses. The illustration above taken from Google Images really came closest to explaining what I have been going through just since January. With most people cataracts grow slow enough that they are almost unaware of them until they are removed and the colors are richer. To me the world seems too bright and everyday too much brighter. Night driving is out. Sunrises and sunsets can be painful. A flash of light blinding. And I understand for some people light even becomes painful. I have become very picky about light. As an artist I suppose I have always been sensitive to light but that is rather different. My studio has tons of

Washing rugs Spring snows catch you unawares in the midst of activities undertaken to get a jump on summer. They come when you think winter was over, and you had packed away the snow boots and moved the winter coats to the upstairs closet. Stored the all weather Carharts. Gotten out the wheel barrow in preparation for some gardening. I confess this was not put away for winter The come gently unlike the storms of winter. They are silent with no howling winds. Wet so they melt quickly into the soil but before they go they balance flake upon flake upon every possible surface and create artistry. Lamp with Easter Bonnet Most winters we are tired of snows by April but this was not most winters. We had some snow early December but January, February and much of March were barren. We started dreading the tinder box of dry forests that surround us. So the wet Spring Snows have been welcome even with the puddles of mud to follow. Snow laden trees You can almost hear the

Touch Me Not It's April. More than just taxes or the end of winter tourist season. April is not spring flowers if you live in the mountains. April is suppose to be beautiful but it is not. One day winter and the next spring. And winds through it all. No place you live can be paradise every day and if it were I am sure it would be boring. The New Mexico mountains suit me most times. I even enjoy winter mostly. And summer is never too hot. But I hate April and November. It is not just the weather or I would conspire like many of my friends to vanish during these two pivotal months. It is maybe that they vanish when so much needs to be done. Or that so much needs to be done I cannot vanish. Or maybe that I feel there should be nothing to do in April and November. Not the case. There is taxes. And rotation of art in various exhibits. Or getting another painting done for the next show. Or no money left after the taxes, getting prints for the last show, etc. Diets begin in Apr

Rain, steam and speed by Turner Early in my return to painting I was asked frequently why I did not do traditional watercolors but instead used vivid colors. Where they got the idea that watercolors were always pastel in palette I had no idea because I had been exposed in college to Turner among others. But my reply to potential clients was that I painted what I remembered seeing. I would go out and take photographs and come back and upload them to my camera and always be a bit disappointed. I remembered the rocks redder, the sun brighter, the sky more vividly blue. A recent eye exam has shown that I have rapidly developing cataracts. And that has raised the question of what it is I do see. Did Turner also have cataracts and see the world blurry like I do without my glasses? El Greco, it is believed had a condition that elongated what he saw. So maybe his paintings were what he did see and not some artistic distortion. The creation of the camera gave rise to impressionism beca